Taking Chances
by acaudill0068
Summary: Rachel's 28 and moving back to Lima after New York wasn't all it was cracked up to be.  She runs into some old friends, some she wished she hadn't crossed paths with again and others that may just change her mind.  FutureFic.  Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while now and I'm just now getting around to getting it posted. It's another future fic and I hope you guys like it. If you read 'Moving on', this is the fic I was talking about posting.

* * *

"Of course I did, Daddy." Rachel said into the phone. "Yes… Kurt just brought the last box in… I have to go. I'll talk to you when you get back on Saturday. I love you, too. Tell Dad I miss him and that I love him. See you on Saturday. Bye, Daddy." She slipped the phone back into her pocket and turned to smile brightly at Kurt who was standing the doorway of the living room. "This is it. I am officially a home owner."

"You had an apartment in New York." Kurt pointed out.

"Yea, but this is a house." Rachel looked around. "My house... my home. This is _my_ home."

"You've been back in Lima for five days already. Have you talked to Finn yet?" Kurt prodded.

Rachel let out a shallow breath and turned to pick up a box before sweeping past Kurt and into the kitchen, slamming the box onto the counter and quickly starting to unpack it. She did not want to get into this right now. Especially not with Kurt.

"Rachel." Kurt frowned.

"I have only talked to you, dad, and daddy since I got back. I'm not sure anyone else even knew I was planning on moving back to Lima." Rachel told him.

"He asks about you all the time." Kurt said. "He's going to find out that you're back eventually. It's been ten years since you two broke up. Don't you think it's time to move past whatever happened between you and Finn?"

Rachel sighed, knowing he was right, and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs with a defeated expression plastered on his face.

"He broke my heart, Kurt." Rachel's voice waivered.

"Sweetie." Kurt felt guilty for bringing this up. Finn had always been a sore area with Rachel, even after all of this time.

"I… I never want to feel like that again." She whispered and Kurt pulled her into a tight hug.

"So do you want to tell me what happened?" Kurt asked. "I promise I'll let you talk as long as you want and I won't even try to cut you off."

"Thanks." Her laugh was watery as she fought back the tears. "Maybe later though… I just can't right now."

"I understand." Kurt nodded. "Whatever it is… I'm on your side, Rachel. Finn may be my brother but I'll always love you more."

"I love you, too." She smiled and patted his hand. "Now help me unpack these boxes. I'd like to get it done by tonight."

"Sure thing." Kurt moved around the house easily, placing everything in its right place and making a few changes in Rachel's arrangement of the furniture.

"So I heard Mercedes is doing great in Chicago." Rachel commented after a while.

"Yea." Kurt replied. "She hasn't been back to Lima in a few years but she's texts me all the time. She met someone a few months ago. They're going pretty strong. You'll never guess who it is." He looked over at her.

"Who?" Rachel asked.

"Matt." Kurt smiled, deviously and Rachel's eyes widened. "I know! I had the same reaction!"

"Our Matt?" Rachel laughed. "Who would have guessed? Now that you mention it they do make an adorable couple."

"I'm not sure if you heard but Artie and Brittany made it official a few months ago." Kurt told her. "I think they're still living in California." He noticed her face grow dark and he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and busied herself with the box in front of her. "I'm fine."

"I'm your best friend, Rachel. You can't lie to me." Kurt said.

Rachel looked up at him and then back at the box, biting back the tears that threatened to betray her. "I'm just wondering how all of this happened." She shrugged.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Artie and Brittany are married; Mercedes and Matt are getting serious; Sam is living with Quinn in Alabama; Mike and Tina moved in together years ago; and you… you and Blaine are so in love. I'm just… I'm jealous. I look around at everyone, I see how happy they are, and I wonder… I wonder why I'm still alone. I'm 28, living by myself in the same town I was raised in, I'm a failed Broadway star and I'm alone. Do you know how pathetic that is?"

"Listen to me, you are not a failure. I don't even want to hear that word come out of your mouth again." Kurt told her firmly. "You are beautiful and you're talented. You _will _find that someone. I know you will and it will be soon."

"You really think so?" Her voice was small.

"I know so." He smiled. "You'll find your Prince… you just might have to kiss a few frogs along the way."

Rachel frowned and sighed. "I'm tired of frogs."

"Me too, sweetie." Kurt chuckled.

"You have Blaine." She pointed out.

"I meant I'm tired of _your_ frogs. No offense, but you have the worst taste in men." Kurt told her.

"Thanks." She rolled her eyes. "I love you too, Kurt."

"You have to admit that you pick some losers." Kurt frowned. "Finn, Jesse, that guy from the bank… They are all class A douche bags."

"Isn't Finn your brother?" Rachel shook her head.

"Your point?" Kurt asked.

"You shouldn't speak so ill of him." She sighed. "Just because he and I broke up doesn't mean you have to dislike him so bluntly."

"Why did you two break up again?" Kurt pondered.

"Kurt." Rachel warned quietly.

"Sorry." Kurt jumped up from the chair, quick to change the subject. "You should come out with Blaine and me tonight. We're going to this new bar in town. It's going to be fun."

"Maybe." Rachel nodded. "It would be nice to get out for a while. I don't know the last time I actually went out with some friends."

"Oh and Rachel…?" Kurt stopped at the door on his way out. "It's karaoke night at the bar tonight."

"Eww." Rachel laughed and hugged Kurt. "Just don't let me drink."

"Yes, we all know how funny you get when you're drunk." Kurt shuddered. "I don't even want to think of the last time you got drunk with Blaine and I."

"Spin the bottle and a duet with me and Blaine." Rachel frowned and shook her head. "Not pretty."

"It's a good thing we got past all of that." Kurt nodded. "We'll meet you tonight at six. The bar is on the corner of second and main."

"I'll be there." Rachel told him. "I'm going to try to get most of these boxes unpacked and then I'll probably soak in the tub for a while before I show up."

"Bye, sweetie." Kurt kissed her cheek and she closed the front door behind him.

Turning back to look at the mess that was her new house she smiled. This was all hers. New beginnings. That was her mantra from now on. New beginnings. She was back in Lima and she was determined to make something of herself.

After unpacking the few boxes she and Kurt hadn't gotten to before he left, she had slipped to her nose in the bubble bath she had ran, but now she was rushing out of her front door in a black mini dress at nearly 5:30 and at this rate she was going to be late.

She was almost to the bar Kurt had told her to meet him at when she saw the blue lights flashing in her rearview mirror. She cursed herself under her breath and pulled over onto the side of the road. If this was a preview of what the rest of the night was going to be like she should just go home and hide under her covers.

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A/N: I know this is kind of short but I thought it was better if I stopped it here. So what did Finn do to Rachel? Who's the cop pulling her over? I probably won't get to the Finn thing next chapter but I will be adding a lot more of the Glee members. Probably Finn, Puck, Mike, Tina, and Blaine. The others probably won't be in it. Except Santana. She's going to play a big role in this fic but I won't bring her in next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: Yea, I didn't get around to adding Mike and Tina. They just didn't fit in this chapter but I promise to get to them in the next one. This is mostly Rachel, Puck, and Kurt but it does have Finn and some light Blaine. I'm pretty sure Santana will be in the next one but I can't make any promises.

Some people were wondering about a Pezberry friendship. When Santana first comes into this story she's more of an 'enemy' of sorts to Rachel. I, too, am in love with Pezberry so I can assure you all that they will become friends… eventually. Now when they finally do become friends I'm not sure. Anyways, on with the story. Oh, and review, please, and let me know what you guys thought of this chapter.

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Rachel sighed when she saw the blue lights in her rearview mirror as she leaned over the seat to pull her registration from the glove box and when she straightened up the cop knocked on her window. She frowned. She hadn't done anything wrong, why in the hell was she getting pulled over. She rolled the window down and the cop leaned down peering into the car through her window.

"What did I do wrong, officer?" Rachel asked looking up and her eyes widened. "This can't be happening."

"License and registration." Finn told her and unnecessarily shined the flashlight in her eyes.

Rachel bit down onto her tongue and handed over what he asked for. "Can I ask what I did wrong?" She tightened her hands on the steering wheel until her knuckles were white.

"Just stay here for a few minutes. I'll be right back." Finn said and stalked back to his police cruiser leaving Rachel to stare after him in her rearview mirror.

Rachel reached for her phone to text Kurt what was going on and when her phone rang a few minutes later she picked up quickly. "Help me!" She hissed.

"Were you speeding?" Kurt asked. "Why'd he pull you over?"

"I have no idea." She whined. "He didn't tell me."

"Okay, I'm sending back-up. Just sit tight for a few minutes." Kurt told her and then the phone clicked dead.

"Kurt." She whispered loudly. "Kurt!" She sighed, throwing her phone onto the seat next to her and glanced into the mirror again to see that Finn was making his way back to her car.

"Rachel." He spoke up once he reached her window.

"Finn." She refused to look up at him and instead focused on the cars that were quickly driving past them. "Are you going to tell me what I did wrong?"

"Nothing." He said. "You weren't doing anything wrong but I heard from Mike that you were back in town and when I saw the star bumper sticker I knew it was your car."

Rachel let out a breath and because her teeth were clenched it came out like a hiss. "Give me my license and registration."

"Excuse me." He leaned down.

She ripped the papers from his hand and then a second set of blue lights flashed in her mirror. "Are you kidding me!" She groaned, throwing her head back onto the headrest.

"Sup, Berry." Puck appeared beside Finn and Rachel's head snapped in his direction.

"Puck?" Rachel took in the sight of him. He was wearing a police uniform and Rachel would be lying if she hadn't noticed how good he looked. He had lost the mohawk and Rachel noted that he looked better without it. He had gotten older in the last ten years but he still had that adorable boyish grin she remembered from high school.

"I saw your car pulled over and figured I'd see if you were having some kind of trouble." Puck said looking over at Finn. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing." Finn said quickly.

"Can I go now?" Rachel asked coldly. "I'm meeting Kurt and Blaine for drinks and I'm already late as it is."

"Just a second, Rachel." Puck said motioning Finn towards the cruiser.

Rachel watched the two of them from her mirror and it wasn't until she saw Finn storm off away from Puck and get into his cruiser, driving off quickly, that she let the tears she had been holding back spill over her eyes and stream down her cheek. She wiped them away quickly when Puck appeared back at her window and leaned down so that they were at eye level with each other.

"You okay?" Puck asked in a soft voice when he saw her tear-stained cheeks.

"No." She admitted. "He's wearing a wedding ring. I'm guessing he's still with Santana?" Puck nods and she takes a deep breath. "He invited me to the wedding. Did you know that? He had the audacity to invite me to a wedding where he would be marrying another girl less than two years after we broke up." Rachel shrugged. "I guess that's when I realized it was really over. He was gone and wasn't coming back." She laughed sourly. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"You can leave now." He told her quietly. "I talked to Finn. He's going to leave you alone for a while."

"Thanks." She offered him a small smile but she knew she looked pathetic crying over a guy that she hadn't been with for eight years; a guy that was married to someone else.

"You should get going. Kurt doesn't like to be kept waiting." Puck straightened up and Rachel nodded.

She waved at him and watched him walk back to his own cruiser and though she'd never admit it, she might have checked out how good the uniform made his butt look.

"What happened, sweetie?" Kurt asked when Rachel walked into the bar, out of breath, and sunk into the chair across from him.

"Honestly… nothing." Rachel shrugged. "Finn didn't say much. It was weird though… Puck showed up."

"I know." Kurt nodded. "I sent him."

"You did?" She furrowed her brow.

"I told you I was sending back-up." Kurt shrugged. "You'll have time to thank him when he shows up. He shows up here every night right around… now." He smiled when Puck walked through the front door right on cue.

Rachel turned in her chair watching as Puck made his way over to the bar and leaned on the counter.

"Are you checking out Puckerman's ass?" Blaine asked.

"Wha… No!" Rachel sputtered and blushed wildly.

"Oh, Kurt, our little girl is growing up!" Blaine laughed. "She's noticing boys."

"Shut up." Rachel glared at him.

"That uniform does show off his greatest attributes." Kurt nodded in approval. "You should totally hit that."

"Kurt!" Rachel shrieked. "That is so… inappropriate and vile."

"I told you that you would have to kiss a few frogs along the way." Kurt told her. "But I never said you couldn't have fun with said frogs. Puck could be one of those frogs." He smiled innocently as if he wasn't suggested what she knew he was.

"I am not sleeping with Noah Puckerman." Rachel shook her head but her gaze drifted again the man at the bar and she chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully.

Puck turned around then, catching Rachel looking at him, and nodded at her. She just blushed and waved at him from her seat. Her eyes darted away, embarrassed, and he studied her. She hadn't changed much since the last time he had seen her, which was ten years ago at graduation. He sipped his beer as his eyes looked her up and down. She still had a great body; a dancers body. She looked pretty much the same except that her eyes had lost some of their sparkle and her hair had grown longer.

Her eyes met his again but this time he was the first one to look away. He turned back around and leaned on the counter to flirt with a blonde that had been eyeing him since he walked in. He was pretty sure he was going to get lucky tonight and he was about to take the blonde home when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Puck?" The blonde asked when he tensed and turned suddenly towards the voice that was coming over the microphone over at the karaoke stage.

"Just a sec." He brushed her off, watching as Rachel adjusted the mic to be level with her mouth.

"H-hello." She tapped the microphone nervously. "I'm Rachel. Rachel Berry." Her voice sounded different somehow. She had never been one to shy away from a performance but for some reason she seemed a little wary of singing. "I uh… I promised myself I wouldn't come up here and do this tonight but my friends Kurt and Blaine…" She pointed out the two boys at their table and they cheered her name loudly. "They, uh, they kind of forced me to come up here." She smiled timidly. "I haven't sung for an audience in a while – a few years actually – so I'm sorry if my voice is a little rusty. I… I guess I should just get on with this then." She cleared her throat quietly and when the background music started Puck stepped closer to the stage so he could hear her better.

When Rachel looked up, holding onto the microphone with one hand, and started to sing, Puck's throat dried suddenly. He hadn't heard Rachel sing since high school and for some reason her voice still gave him chills. He watched her closely as she sang some song he didn't recognize but it was showing off her voice amazingly well.

The song ended much too soon in Puck's opinion and when she stopped singing she looked a little nervous but when Blaine and Kurt erupted in applause and started to whoop she broke out into a huge smile, making her way over to her friends. Puck grabbed another beer from the bar and walked over, sliding into the chair that was empty beside her.

"Nice performance, Berry." He said and she smiled at him. "Beer?"

"Thank you, Puck." She nodded at him and took the bottle from his hand. "It was 'Black Roses Red' by the way."

"I knew that." Puck lied.

"I'm sure." She laughed. "That would probably mean you had seen 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2' and I highly doubt you would watch that movie."

"Right." He frowned, ignoring the fact that he had in fact seen that movie but to be clear, his sister had made him watch it. "You still sound amazing, by the way."

"I know." Her cocky grin came back and he couldn't keep the smirk from his face. "You haven't changed much, Puckerman." She commented.

"Neither have you." His eyes looked her over appreciatively and she leaned towards him.

"Wanna get out of here?" She asked as her fingers skated up his thigh. "I'll show you just how much I've changed since high school."

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A/N: Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine and I apologize for them because I'm sure this chapter was littered with them. Thanks for the reviews I got from the first chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: I promised Mike and Tina so I gave you Mike and Tina… for like two seconds. Santana's in here as well but not for very long. I think she only says like one or two lines but like I said, she does play a big role in this fic so you will be seeing her again. I'm going to try to go light on the Finn bashing in the next few chapters because I know a lot of people like him but given the situation Rachel is in it just kind of called for a little Finn-hating.

This chapter was especially difficult for me to write just for the fact that this hits really close to home. You will find out what happened between Rachel and Finn in this chapter. What Rachel went through is similar to what happened to a close friend of mine last year so this chapter is dedicated to Camille. I love you, Cam!

* * *

"Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" Kurt asked, dramatically fanning himself with his hand.

"I'll see you two tomorrow." Rachel stood up, pulling a surprised Puck with her. "Bye, Kurt, Blaine."

"Here." Kurt pushed a foil wrapper into her Rachel's palm. She gave him a puzzled look before realizing what it was and gasped. "Just in case." Kurt nodded and winked at her.

Rachel rolled her eyes, letting Puck help her into her coat. When they walked out of the bar Puck realized he was still holding Rachel's hand and quickly jerked it away.

"So what are your plans?" Puck asked. "That thing back in the bar? You weren't serious were you?"

Rachel smiled. "Kurt's been pestering me about going out with someone and I figured if he saw me inviting you back to my place he would leave me alone for a while." She looked over at him. "Sorry I dragged you into this."

"No worries." He looked down. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks." She sighed, pulling her jacket tighter around her.

"You cold?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She shook her head when they reached her car.

"What happened with you and Hudson?" He questioned suddenly and she tensed.

"Puck." She sighed. "Can we not get into this right now?"

"He talks about you all the time but he never tells me what happened between you and him that made you guys break up. You two were going so great. You two even moved to New York together but then something happened that made him run back to Lima."

She leaned back against her car and let out a shaky breath. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." He looked over at her. "I've been told I'm an excellent listener."

She chuckled at this and nodded. "I… I wanted to paint our apartment brown and he wanted it green. We fought and… that's it. That's the story. That's why we broke up."

"That's a load of shit, Berry." Puck frowned. "You're a horrible liar."

She smiled sadly. "I know."

"Whenever you're ready to talk about… I'm here." He told her.

She nodded and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I know. Thank you. I hope to see you again soon."

Puck watched as she got into her car and pulled away leaving him in a half-empty parking lot.

* * *

"Two nights in one week." Kurt smiled when Rachel walked into the bar the next night. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm just here for a drink." She checked her watch and glanced at the bar.

Kurt gasped and Rachel looked at him, confused. "Would you happen to be waiting for a certain uniformed hunk to show up? Naughty Rachel! You seem to have a crush on one Noah Puckerman. Who would have guessed?"

"I do not." Rachel sighed. "I've just decided to take your advice and have some fun… maybe kiss some frogs."

"Would Puck happen to be one of these frogs?" Blaine asked, smirking.

"Who's a frog?" Mike asked, sitting in the chair next to Blaine and Tina chose the seat next to Rachel.

"Puck." Kurt smiled and then burst into giggles.

"Speak of the devil." Tina pointed towards the door.

Rachel turned to see Puck walk through the door of the bar. She smiled and he waved at her but when she saw Finn step into the bar behind him she paled and turned back around.

"Why is _he_ here?" Kurt spat when Puck and Finn walked over to the table.

"Hi, Rachel." Finn said sheepishly and ran his hand over his hair. "Can we talk?"

Kurt was about to say something but Rachel spoke first. "It's okay, Kurt. This will only take a second." She stood and let Finn lead her to the other side of the room. "What can I do for you, Finn?"

"We need to sort some things out." He said.

"What's there to talk about?" Rachel crossed her arms.

"Us." He frowned. "Damn, Rachel, I don't know."

"Us? What us, Finn? You made it perfectly clear you didn't want anything to do with me eight years ago." Rachel spat. "I don't understand why you're dragging all of this back out. You know… you know how hard it was on me."

"You aren't the only that was hurt, Rachel!" Finn said loudly.

Rachel nodded. "You broke up with me, remember?"

"I know, Rachel. Damn it." Finn sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say here."

"I don't want you to say anything." Rachel shook her head. "Look, Finn… I know why you felt the way you felt."

"You do?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, but…"

"But?" Finn nodded.

"But I can't forgive you for what you did. I can't… I could never forgive you for that because what you did, what you _said_… it was wrong. What happened was not my fault and you made me feel like I was nothing. Like… like I wasn't good enough for you."

"I didn't mean anything I said."

"It's doesn't matter. It's in the past and we can't take what we said or did back. I know it was hard on you but think about how I felt." Rachel felt her voice waiver.

"I'm sorry, Rachel." Finn sounded genuine. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I know—" Rachel was cut off by a voice she had hoped she would never have to hear again.

"Look who it is?" Santana snarled from behind Rachel. "Damaged goods."

Rachel felt her breath go and she paled as the tears sprang in her eyes. She turned slowly to see Santana smirking in satisfaction. Rachel looked back at Finn. "You- you told her?"

"I…" Finn stammered but didn't get to finish before Rachel was running out of the bar.

She reached the wall and leaned against it heavily fighting for a breath. She felt arms wrap around her but she didn't fight them because she knew who they belonged to. Instead, she sunk against the hard chest and sobbed into Noah's shirt as he tried to soothe her by running his hand through her hair.

"Sshh." He whispered. "It's okay, Rachel."

Rachel sobbed until her cries turned into hiccups and she finally started to pull away from him but his arms stayed around her waist. She looked up at him and she knew she looked pathetic but she didn't care.

"He told her." Rachel felt the tears spring back to life in her eyes. "Of all people, he told _her_."

"Come on. Let's get you home." Puck pulled her towards her car. Since he had driven with Finn he figured he would just drive her home himself. She was too upset to be behind the wheel anyway.

It wasn't until he had her sitting on her couch with a mug of tea that she finally spoke again. "It was an accident." Rachel whispered.

"What was?" Puck asking sitting beside her on the couch.

"No… there was an accident." Rachel's voice was soft and low. "We had been living together in our apartment in New York for almost a year. We were going so well and I loved him so much. It wasn't planned, I mean, I'm Rachel Berry, I plan everything but then those two pink lines showed up on that damn white stick. Can you imagine it? Me? Rachel Berry pregnant? Shocking, right?" Rachel paused to take a deep breath and Puck noticed that tears were already in her eyes.

"You don't have to talk about this." He told her.

She nodded but continued anyway. "Finn was so happy when I told him but I wasn't sure how to feel about any of it. Me being pregnant meant that I couldn't continue on Broadway. I couldn't live my life because he forgot to put on a condom." She sighed.

"Did you…? Did you get an abortion?" Puck asked quietly.

"…I thought about, honestly. I seriously considered it. I got so far as to get to the parking lot of the clinic but as I was getting out of the car my hands kept touching my stomach. I was pregnant. I had a baby inside of me. Finn and I had made a baby. I couldn't just get rid of it. I realized that no matter how much I had to give up it would have been worth it because I loved Finn and I loved our baby. Our little 'peanut'. That's what Finn used to call the baby. Our 'peanut'." She stopped as a sob tore through her throat.

"What happened, Rachel?"

"All I can remember thinking is if maybe I had cut back my hours at work; maybe if I had taken it easier like Finn said… but I didn't. I kept working and I was exhausted all of the time. I never slowed down on my work load and one day I just… I collapsed. When I woke up Finn was there and we were at the hospital." Rachel shook her head. "It was my fault. I had killed our baby. The doctors came in and they used all of these big words but I didn't catch most of it because my head was screaming that my baby was dead. I remember touching my stomach but it didn't feel the same. I had always used to feel the baby moving around but I didn't feel anything. I was empty. One minute I was three months pregnant and the next I was _empty_. The doctors said something about not being able to save a tube and even if by some miracle I was to get pregnant again they said I probably wouldn't make it to term." She took another deep, shaky breath.

"Rachel." Puck whispered sadly.

"Finn tried to pretend he was okay with it, he really did, but… but about a year later he started bringing up marriage and kids." Rachel shook her head. "He told me he didn't think he could be with someone that couldn't give him children. I came home one night and he had his bags packed and had already bought a plane ticket for Lima." She looked over at Puck. "That's the story that everyone has been dying to know. That's why Finn left me. Santana was right… I'm damaged goods."

"Rachel." He leaned towards her and took the cup from her hands, sitting it on the table. "Don't say that."

"Why not? It's true." She said tearfully. "I can't give him children so he left me. He didn't even ask me how I was feeling; how upset I was that I could never have a baby; that I could never carry a child. He didn't stop to think about how I felt. He just packed up and was gone without even looking back."

"You are _not_ damaged." He told her firmly, pulling her across the couch towards him. "You're perfect, Rachel."

Rachel used her sleeve to wipe her nose. "I know you're just saying that."

"I mean it, Rach." He kissed her cheek. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"Noah." Rachel closed her eyes when she felt his lips on her forehead and then on her cheek again before landing on her lips. It was a quick kiss but it was still soft and gentle.

"_Nothing_." Puck repeated the word, mumbling it against her lips, and pulled back from Rachel. "I should go home."

She nodded silently and watched as he stood, pulling on his coat. He left quietly, shutting her door softly and then she was left alone. Her fingers drifted to her mouth and wondered if maybe Noah wasn't a frog at all.

* * *

A/N: I hoped you liked this. I just want to give another shout out to Cam. She's such a strong woman and I am extremely proud to even have the privilege of knowing her. She surprises me every day by how she always stays so optimistic even through everything she has had to go through. This chapter took me a while because it was pretty emotional. I know I could never know exactly how anyone would feel that has gone through this kind of pain but I hope I portrayed it well. Again, I love you, Cam, and I hope you never change. You are my role model!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: I needed a break from my very hectic personal life so I wrote this chapter. It only took me about an hour so it's not that good but I'm happy with it. We're delving into a Puckleberry relationship this chapter. Not a romantic relationship but a friendship.

* * *

"Kurt?" Rachel opened her front door in the morning to find Kurt, Blaine, and Tina on the other side. "Blaine? Tina? What are you guys doing here?"

"Puck asked us to come check on you." Kurt explained stepping into the house.

"You seemed really upset last night after you talked to Finn." Tina said. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"No." Rachel said honestly and then sighed. "But I guess I'll have to eventually, right?"

So after they were settled in the living room Rachel slowly told them everything and she felt Kurt and Tina both take one of her hands and squeeze tightly.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Tina asked, visibly upset.

"I'll kill him." Blaine started to get up but Rachel grabbed his hand pulling him back onto the couch.

"You don't have to." Rachel shook her head.

"Oh, but I want to." Blaine shook his head angrily. "I never liked Finn that much. I just put up with him because he was Kurt's brother but no more. If I ever catch him alone…"

"What? You'll attack him with one of Kurt's scarves?" Rachel smiled. "Look… I didn't tell you guys this so you would be mad at Finn. I told you because… because Santana knows and I didn't want you finding out from her. This isn't Finn's fault."

"It's not yours either." Kurt said and realized Rachel actually thought it was. "Listen to me, Rachel. This wasn't anybody's fault. What happened wasn't because of something you did."

"Finn seems to think so." Rachel sighed. "I just wish he could understand how difficult it was for me. When I needed him the most he just left me."

"I'm serious, Rachel, give me the sign and I'm sure I could scrounge up a few guys from work to beat Finn's face in." Blaine offered.

"Thanks." She nodded. "I think… I think I just need some company right now. I don't want to be alone."

"Of course, sweetie." Kurt patted her hand. "Blaine and Tina have to get to work but I'll stay here all day if you want."

She nodded again, telling Blaine and Tina goodbye, before letting Kurt lead her to the bedroom and they both crawled onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Rachel?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Hmm?" She replied.

"Did it hurt?" He wondered. "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping some boundaries here…"

"It's okay." She reached down to take his hand. "Honestly, it didn't hurt that much. There was some cramping but… but it was nothing compared to how I felt when I woke and was told that my baby was gone." She bit into her lip for a few seconds. "I felt so… alone."

"I'm sorry." Kurt whispered.

"Me too." She said just as quietly.

"Can I ask when it happened?"

Rachel took a shallow breath and closed her eyes as the tears streamed out again. "March. March 23rd."

"Sweetie." Kurt wiped her tears away with his free hand. "Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

"Yea." Rachel nodded.

* * *

It was later, much later, that Rachel finally woke up. She hadn't realized how exhausting this big move had actually been on her but when she woke up she saw that it was nearly six o'clock at night and she had fallen asleep at ten this morning. She groaned, sitting up slightly, and when she felt the hard body next to her she furrowed her brow. Kurt couldn't still be here, could he? When she flipped on her bedside light she screamed seeing who exactly was sleeping in her bed with her.

"The fuck?" Puck yelled jerking out of his sleep. "What's wrong?" He asked sleepily when he saw how freaked out Rachel was.

"What are you doing in my bed?" She asked standing up and wrapping her sheet around her. She wasn't naked but she was in her pajamas and Noah Puckerman did not get to see her in her pajamas – especially since they only consisted of a tank top and a pair of blue cotton shorts.

"Do you have to yell?" He tried to rub the tiredness from his eyes.

"Noah Puckerman?" She gasped. "Are you naked? In my bed?" She saw that that he had the blanket – her blanket – pulled up to his bare chest.

"Rachel." He groaned, throwing the blanket back and stood up. Thankfully, he had his blue pants still on and she saw that his wife beater and his blue uniform shirt were both hanging over the chair in the corner of her room. "Why do you have to be so loud?"

"Sorry." She mumbled staring at him intensely.

It wasn't her fault that Noah looked even better now than he had in high school. His 'guns', as he liked to call them, had somehow gotten even larger and he still had some of the best abs Rachel had ever seen. She licked her lips and wondered why she was letting herself get sucked into this trap. Noah Puckerman was not a good choice for her. He was rude and crass and vulgar. He did one night stands and picked up trashy women from bars. On the other hand, the way he had kissed her last night was far from any way he had ever kissed her before. Last night had been careful and gentle.

"I showed up here about two hours ago and Kurt said you were sleeping. He had to get home to Blaine so I told him I could stay. I didn't want to wake you but I was really tired so I thought I'd lie down and get a short nap." Puck said and much to Rachel's dismay pulled his wife beater over his head and started to pull on his blue shirt. As he fumbled with the buttons he swore under his breath something about small buttons and big fingers. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't think I'd be asleep that long." He frowned. "Damn it. I hate these damn buttons."

"Let me try." She tossed her sheet back onto the bed and walked over to Puck.

"Thanks." Puck let his hands fall to his sides and watched as she started to quickly button his shirt up.

"You know… there's something about a man in a uniform." She smiled absently. "I'm sure if you wore this down to the bar women would be throwing themselves at you."

"Why is that?" He asked.

"I dunno…" She shrugged and looked up to meet his eyes. "Something about knowing that you risk your life every day after you put this on. It's dangerous and sexy." She saw him smirk and wished she hadn't said anything.

"You think I'm sexy?" He was clearly amused.

"No…" She shook her head, continuing to button the shirt slowly. Though she wouldn't admit it, she liked being this close to Noah. "The uniform is."

"Right." Puck chuckled.

"You should try it sometime." She shrugged. "I'm telling you this uniform will get you home with some tramp lying under you in record time."

"Could you possibly be one of these women?" He looked down at her hands as they shakily did their work.

"I…" Rachel smiled as well. "No."

"Why not?" He looked offended that she would reject him so quickly.

"Because I know the man under this uniform." She finished with the last button and stepped away. "And I won't be another tally mark on his bedpost."

"I'm not seventeen anymore, Berry. I've changed." Puck countered. "I don't make tally marks on my bed. I just keep the panties as a souvenir shoved in the back of my closet." He joked but Rachel didn't think it was that funny.

Rachel snorted and pulled her bedroom door open, making her way to her kitchen and he followed closely behind her.

"I have changed." He insisted.

"I'm sure you have." She nodded pulling a bottle of water from her fridge.

"I guess I should go then." Puck sighed, looking at the time on the clock. "I'm probably going to hit the bar for a little bit. Wanna come?"

She smiled and walked over towards him. "No… but thanks for offering." She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Goodnight, Noah."

"Night, Rach."

Puck let her lead him to the front door and as she shut it in his face he felt the urge to say something but he couldn't find the right words before he heard her turn the lock and then the light flipped off. Even through the door he could hear her sigh and then pad out of the room. He groaned, running his hands over his short hair and stalked off towards his cruiser. It had been ten years since he had seen Rachel; ten years since he had even thought about her but now that she was back in Lima he wasn't sure why he couldn't _stop_ thinking about her.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Rachel?" Tina walked into the bar and Kurt, Blaine, Mike, and Puck were already there. "I haven't seen her all day and when I tried to call she didn't pick up.

It had been a week since that night in Rachel's house and Puck had to admit, he hadn't seen Rachel around much lately either.

"I haven't talked to her." Puck shrugged.

"Oh God." Kurt shook his head. "I am so stupid."

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Today… it's March 23rd." Kurt shook his head. "How the hell could I forget something like this?"

"Her birthday?" Puck asked.

"Her birthday is in December." Kurt shook his head and wondered how Puck could be so dumb. "No, today is the day nine years ago that she lost the baby."

"Shit." Puck groaned. "No wonder she hasn't been around."

"We'll go check on her." Kurt offered and he and Blaine both stood up.

"I'll come too." Puck stood up quickly.

"We can handle this." Blaine told him.

"I'm going." Puck said firmly. "She's going to need me."

Kurt and Blaine shared a look and Kurt smiled, not arguing with Puck any longer. The three boys hurried out to their cars and soon they were pulling up in front of Rachel's house.

Blaine and Kurt jumped from their car and were quickly on her porch with Puck not far behind. Blaine started to knock but Kurt pulled out a key instead.

"You really think she's going to answer the door?" Kurt asked. "She's probably wrapped up in blankets and already emptied three tubs of her disgusting vegan ice cream." He quietly pushed the door open.

They didn't hear anything and Puck bee-lined for the bedroom. When he pushed the door open Rachel was curled up on her bed on top of the blankets.

"Fuck, Rachel." Puck swore under his breath and both Kurt and Blaine shoved past him.

"Sweetie." Kurt whispered and she looked up at them. She had definitely been crying. She pulled herself up and sat on the edge of the bed. "We are so sorry we didn't come sooner."

"Noah." Rachel shoved herself from the bed and clung to Puck. "I'm so glad you're here."

He looked up to see Kurt and Blaine smiling at him but he ignored the two boys and wrapped his arms around Rachel. "It's okay, Rachel."

After a few minutes Rachel untangled herself from Puck and looked up at him. "I've been trying to call you all day." She told him.

"I must have had my phone off." He apologized. "You should have called the station. They would have gotten a hold of me."

"I didn't want to bother you at work." She shook her head and when she turned back to her bed she looked like she was just realizing Kurt and Blaine were here as well. "Oh…" She hugged Blaine and Kurt both separately. "Thanks you guys… for being here."

"Are you okay sweetie?" Kurt asked sitting back on the bed beside her.

"No." She shook her head. "I just… it's been nine years. Nine years and I still remember how it felt when my baby moved inside of me."

"Rachel." Blaine sat down on the other side of her.

"I keep thinking that maybe if I had been more careful… maybe I'd… I'd have a beautiful eight year child to tuck into bed and take care of them when their sick." Rachel felt the tears slide down her cheeks.

There was a knock at the door and Rachel stood up.

"That might be Tina." Kurt said and Rachel nodded moving to open the front door.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Puck snarled when Rachel opened the door to find Finn on the other side. "I swear to God…" He went to step towards Finn but Rachel stopped him.

"Finn." She whispered, seeing the tall man in her doorway, his arms automatically wrapping around her small frame tightly and they clung to each other.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel." Finn whispered into her hair.

"Me too." She replied.

Kurt grabbed Puck's arm and shook his head. Kurt didn't want Puck doing something stupid and right now it looked like Rachel needed Finn. Finn and Rachel stood like that for a while, holding onto each other in the doorway of her house as Rachel's sobs tore through her throat and tears ran down Finn's face. Finn buried his face in Rachel's neck and she held onto him tighter. After a few minutes Rachel tore herself away from him and motioned him into the house. Teary-eyed, Rachel shut the front door behind him.

"We should go." Blaine suggested and kissed Rachel's forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rach."

"I'll stay." Kurt offered, glaring at Finn.

"Go home." Rachel shook her head. "I'll see you later."

After hugging Kurt, the two boys left, leaving Rachel, Puck, and Finn standing awkwardly in the living room. Rachel gestured for Puck and Finn to sit down in the living room. Finn sat on the couch and Puck chose the loveseat, not wanting to sit anywhere near Finn.

"You don't have to stay." Rachel told Puck.

"I'm not going anywhere." Puck replied and she smiled gratefully.

Puck was surprised when instead of sitting beside Finn; she sat down next to Puck and slipped her hand in his. He squeezed it reassuringly and tried not to notice how close she was sitting next to him.

"What do you want, Finn?" Rachel asked. "You've never shown up on this day before. What made you come here tonight?"

"I…" Finn ran his hand nervously over his head. "I don't know, honestly."

"Finn." Rachel shook her head and her grip tightened on Puck's hand. "I can't do this. I can't let you drag all of this out again. I don't know if I handle that."

"I'm sorry for what Santana said last week." Finn told her.

"You don't have to do this." Rachel told him. "I don't need you coming around and being nice to me. You made it clear that you didn't see a future with me. You've moved on with Santana and I've moved on as well."

"You have?" Finn looked confused and then looked between Puck and Rachel and how they were holding hands. "You're with Puckerman? You're kidding, right?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Noah has been a great friend lately." Rachel narrowed her eyes at Finn. "You don't have any say in who I do anything with."

"So are you with Puck?" Finn asked.

Rachel glanced over at Noah but then looked back at Finn. "No, I'm not."

"Oh…" Finn looked around awkwardly. "Nice place."

"Is there a point to this visit?" Rachel asked angrily. Who did Finn think he was just showing up like this?

"I miss you, Rachel." Finn admitted. "Like… a lot."

"I miss you, too." Rachel nodded. "But like I said at the bar, I can't forgive you."

"Why not?" Finn asked.

"It's not just that you left… it's what you said before you went."

"You know I'm sorry for that." Finn sighed.

"You told me I was broken." Rachel whispered and she felt Puck grip her hand tighter at the words. "Those were your exact words, Finn, I was broken and you didn't want a defective girlfriend. You wanted a new girl that could give you children and a family."

"Rachel…" Finn frowned slightly.

"You made me feel like it was my fault; like I had somehow caused my miscarriage." Rachel sniffled. "And I will never forgive you for that. You said I was _broken_, Finn. Do you know how those words made me feel? Do you really think I wanted that to happen; that I wanted to never be able to carry a child?"

"I was upset, Rachel. We both said things we didn't mean." Finn argued.

"This difference was I didn't say what I said to hurt you. I didn't go out of my way to make you feel like you were nothing." Rachel stood up, upset. "Please get out."

"Rach." Finn shook his head.

"Get out of my house before I throw you out." Her voice was laced with venom and Puck was about to grab a hold of her so she wouldn't pounce on Finn but the tall boy finally shuffled towards the door.

"I really am sorry, Rachel… about everything." Finn said before finally leaving.

Rachel stood there staring at the front door and was literally shaking. She closed her eyes when she felt Puck stand and grab her hands.

"Do I need to call Kurt or Tina?" He asked quietly. "You look really awful."

Rachel cracked a small smile. "You always knew how to make a girl feel good about herself, Puckerman." She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"I can stick around… make sure he doesn't show up again." Puck offered.

"I think I can handle Finn on my own." Rachel told him. "Thanks for staying with me for all of this. I know you probably didn't want to be in the middle of all of this but I'm really glad that you're here."

"Anytime, Berry." He smiled and pulled on his jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow?" It sounded more like a question and she nodded.

"Of course." She smiled and led him to the door. "I meant what I said before. You really have been a great friend lately."

"I told you I'd changed since high school." He grinned stepping out onto the porch. "If you need something, call me." He scribbled a number on a slip of paper. "This is my emergency phone. I'll always pick up. Call me anytime, day or night."

"Thanks." She took the paper. "Bye, Noah. I'm sure I'll use this." She let go of his hand and shut the door softly.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

Rachel walked into the bar slowly and spotted Kurt sitting at the usual table with a guy she didn't recognize. "Hi." She walked over cautiously.

"Rachel!" Kurt smiled brightly. "This is Andy. Andy, this is Rachel."

"Nice to meet you, Rachel." Andy, a handsome blonde guy, shook her hand.

"Likewise." Rachel smiled.

"Look at that…" Kurt pulled out his phone. "Blaine wants me home right away." He stood up quickly and kissed Rachel's cheek before rushing out of the bar.

Rachel nodded and looked back at Andy. "I think we've just been set up."

"Looks that way." Andy chuckled. "Kurt's been trying to set me up with someone for weeks now."

"Has he?" Rachel grinned. "He's been bugging me about meeting a guy as well."

"I just got out of a pretty serious relationship." Andy told her. "About three months ago."

"So did I." Rachel said.

"Really? How long as it been for you?" He asked.

"Well, umm… actually it's been a while." Rachel looked down. "Eight years, to be exact."

"Wow. Eight years and you're just now getting back into the dating scene." Andy smiled. "Don't worry; I hear it's just like riding a bike." He winked and she blushed.

"I'll get us some drinks." Rachel offered and walked to the bar. "Noah? I didn't think you'd be here." She smiled at Puck when she reached the counter and ordered her drinks. She noticed he was wearing his uniform.

"Every night." He nodded. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"I don't think that would be appropriate." Rachel sighed. "Kurt set me up with someone."

"Really?" Puck looked over at her.

"Yea." She smiled and grabbed the two bottles of beer. "You know, it has been a while, maybe I'll get lucky." She laughed and walked back to her table with Andy.

"Ass." Puck grumbled when he saw Andy. He was a little surprised when the word slipped out of his mouth. He shouldn't be jealous that Rachel was with someone else. It's not that he liked her. He just didn't want her getting hurt.

Almost an hour later Rachel found herself walking out of the bar with Andy by her side. She saw Puck still standing at the bar and wondered why he was still here. She had seen several women that were practically throwing themselves at him and yet he was still standing by the bar nursing his glass of Jack.

"I had fun tonight." Rachel smiled at Andy as they walked towards her car. "I forgot how fun it was to just go out and let loose. I haven't done that in so long."

"Glad to help." He grinned as well when they reached her car. "I guess this is the part when I kiss you?" He whispered and leaned towards her.

Rachel's heart clutched as his lips blended with hers and her eyes fluttered shut by how sweet it was. He broke away after a few seconds and pecked her on the cheek before stepping away from her. She smiled at him and said goodbye, waiting until he was driving off to sigh. Andy had been great tonight. He was sweet and absolutely perfect… so why hadn't she felt anything when he kissed her. She frowned, hating herself for spoiling a perfect night and turned to get into her car.

"Rachel." A voice called out to her and when she looked up an intoxicated Noah was stumbling towards her. Or was it Puck? "Good… you haven't left yet." His words were slurred.

"I was just about to go home." She told him, watching as he leaned heavily on the side of her car. "Noah… you're drunk."

"I know." He nodded. "I spent all night trying to ignore the fact that you were on a date with some pretentious douche bag." Yep, this was definitely Puck.

"It wasn't a date." She shook her head. "It was just one round of drinks with some guy Kurt set me up with."

"It didn't mean anything?" He asked quietly and Rachel almost laughed at how happy he looked.

She thought back to how Andy had just kissed her. "No." She replied honestly. "It meant absolutely nothing."

"That's good." Puck nodded. "I'd hate to have to kick the guy's ass."

"Noah." She shook her head and laughed. "Give me your keys." She held her hand out.

"Why?" He looked defensive. "I'm perfectly safe to drive."

"You can't even stand up straight." Rachel countered, stepping forward to fish his car keys out of his front pocket.

"No need to get frisky." Puck smirked.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"…Alright." Puck gave in. "I guess it would be pretty stupid to drive drunk. I am a cop after all… I suppose I should at least try to obey the law."

Rachel smiled and helped him walk around to the other side of the car. She had him situated in the front seat and was buckling his seat belt when she felt his hand reach up to push her hair behind her ear.

"You're so beautiful, Rachel." He whispered.

Rachel froze and looked up to meet his eyes. She told herself that he was drunk and he didn't mean any of it but it didn't stop the butterflies that fluttered dangerously in her stomach.

"So damn beautiful." He mumbled as his thumb slowly swiped across her bottom lip. "Have I ever told you that?" He asked in a slur. "I should do it more often."

Smelling the whiskey on his breath brought Rachel out of her trance. She buckled the seat belt and straightened up. "Let's just get you home."

She was driving out of the parking lot when she realized she had no idea where he lived and he was so drunk he couldn't even tell her his address. She silently groaned and pulled into her own driveway instead.

"Alright, Noah." She sighed jumping out of the car and hurrying over to his side.

"We're at your house." He commented.

"Yes, we are." She nodded, grabbing his hand and helping him into a standing position. "I don't know where you live and I didn't want to call Mike. It's already almost midnight."

"I like your house." He said. "It's warm."

Rachel shook her head, smiling, and let him lean against her as she tried to unlock her front door. After a few seconds she finally got it open and was helping him through the doorway. He let go of her, stumbling into the house and she turned to lock the front door back.

After she had kicked her shoes off and had checked her messages – three from Kurt wondering how her date went – she looked around for Puck. He wasn't in hallway.

"Noah!" She whispered loudly. He wasn't in the living room or kitchen so she headed upstairs. Maybe he had found the guestroom.

She frowned when she found him sprawled across her king-sized bed. She walked over and kicked his foot that was hanging off of the bed.

"Hey." He grumbled. "That was my foot."

"And this is my bed." Rachel told him.

"I know." He opened his eyes to look up at her.

"You can sleep in the guestroom." She said.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm staying right here."

"You're being difficult, Noah." Rachel put her hands on her hips.

"You like me hard." He smirked and she rolled her eyes at his drunken mediocre attempt at humor.

"You are so stubborn." She shook her head and tugged his shoes off. "You're lucky you're inebriated or I would so be kicking you out right now."

"If you wanted me naked, all you had to do was ask." He slurred.

"I was trying to make you more comfortable but if you're going to be so immature then I'll just leave you be." Rachel narrowed her eyes at him.

"Undress me." He smiled putting his hands behind his head.

"You're enjoying this too much." She frowned moving to unbuckle his belt and he rolled his hips to help her pull it off of him. "You really do look good in this uniform." She commented absently. "I'm lucky I have so much self-control." She smiled sarcastically.

She unbuttoned his pants and then started to undo the buttons on his shirt. After his shirt was draped over the edge of the bed she went back to tug as his pants. He lifted his hips and she pulled them the rest of the way off and when her eyes swept up his body she bit into her bottom lip hard. She took in his hard chest and the way he seemed to have just the right amount of chest hair compared to how Finn hadn't had any hair on his chest. Her eyes drifted back down towards his boxers and she gasped.

"Noah!" She covered her eyes.

"Sorry." He sat up and smirked. "Not my fault. I'm drunk and had a hot woman undressing me and staring at me. It was bound to happen, Berry. Can you really blame me for getting a little turned on?"

"A little?" She snorted, her eyes still covered.

She heard him chuckle and her frown deepened when she felt him stand up. "Noah." She warned when he started to back her towards the wall.

"Relax, Berry." He whispered huskily and pulled her hand away from her face so that they were staring at each other. "Just… relax." His lips brushed against her collarbone and she felt her resolve begin to crumble.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Glee.

A/N: I know a lot of you were looking forward to some smut so I'm sorry to disappoint. What Rachel went through was heartbreaking and I don't think she's ready to jump into any kind of relationship with Noah, especially a sexual one, so it might be a while before any of that happens. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Rachel left New York because of all of the drama; because she wanted some time to calm down and figure out what she really wants. She did not come back to Lima to fool around with Noah Puckerman, but here she is, backed against her bedroom wall, and he's pressed against her. She can feel all of him and his lips are slowly gliding up her neck and she's pretty sure he's purposely avoiding her lips. She isn't sure why she's so turned on by him right now. He's not even touching her and his lips are barely on her skin but somehow she doesn't think she's ever been more aroused than she is right now.

"Rachel." He murmured her name and she felt her knees get weak. He pulled away from her then and she quickly composed her face so he doesn't see how upset she is by this action. His eyes searched hers for a few seconds before a smirk crosses his lips. "Tuck me in, Rach."

"You are perfectly capable of putting yourself to bed." She narrowed her eyes at him. "You are a grown man, Noah Puckerman."

He just grabs her hand and pulls her towards the bed with him. She doesn't fight because she can't really think of a reason to stop him. She watches as he pulls the covers back and when he slips into the bed he looks up at her and pats the spot beside him expectantly.

"Maybe I should sleep across the hall." She whispers half-heartedly and neither of them believes she really means it.

He grabbed her wrist and carefully pulled her down so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Sleep with me, Rachel." He whispered back.

"Noah…" She looks around the room, thankful it was dark so he couldn't see the blush spreading across her face.

"Just sleep." He corrected quickly.

She chewed on her lip but finally gave in. "Let me just change first." She told him.

He watched as she moved towards her dresser, pulling out a pair of pajamas, and disappeared out of the room. She wasn't gone long and when she came back he was already half asleep. He felt her slide into the bed beside him and without really thinking he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her back towards him so that her back was against his chest. He left his arm looped around her stomach and she didn't seem to mind.

Rachel closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his breathes coming at a steady, even rate as her fingers trailed up and down his arm that was wrapped around her.

"Are you awake?" She asked quietly.

"No." He replied just as quiet and she flipped over so that they were facing each other.

"This is nice." She told him. "It's been a while since I've had someone sleeping in my bed with me."

"Mm-hmm." He mumbled, his eyes still closed. "It's been a while for me too."

"Noah, you have girls sleep over almost every night of the week." She rolled her eyes.

"I meant sleeping with someone I care about." He said sleepily.

Rachel couldn't help but smile and snuggled closer to Noah. She wasn't sure if he meant just as a friend or something more but she's pretty sure either one would be okay with her. She drifted to sleep with his face nuzzled in her hair as his breath beat hotly on her neck.

* * *

"I'm so excited." Rachel basically jumped from the car as soon as Kurt pulled his SUV into the parking lot of the old building. "This is it, Kurt. I can feel it. This is going to work."

"Calm down." Kurt laughed as he, Blaine, and Tina followed the bouncy brunette up the sidewalk towards the large doors of the building.

"This is our building, Kurt. Me, you, and Tina… we're going to open a dance studio!" She smiled cheekily. "Why aren't you guys more excited?"

"We are excited, Miss Berry." Kurt smiled as well as they stepped into the studio. "This building is a piece of crap though. I can't believe I let you convince me to lease this place with you and Tina."

"This place is great." Rachel countered and looked around with wide eyes. "We can paint the walls a chocolate color; something warm and comforting. We'll get some benches for the parents to sit on in here and in the back – that's where the kids will be dancing – we can have mirrors lining the walls. This is so perfect." She squealed. "I am so thankful that you guys decided to help me with this."

"Come on." Tina grabbed Rachel's hand and led her to the back of the building so they could keep talking about plans for the studio.

"She seems happier." Blaine commented and Kurt nodded in agreement.

"I know." Kurt smiled.

"I remember when you and I visited her in New York right after Finn left her." Blaine said quietly. "She was so depressed and hurt. I can't believe that asshole could just leave her like that."

"She's better now." Kurt looked over at the dark-haired man. "She's healing. Healing from Finn and everything else that happened. It's going to take some time and I don't think she'll ever be the same Rachel Berry she was before but she is going to be okay."

"I believe you." Blaine nodded. "I just wish I could help her somehow."

"I think a certain uniformed Noah Puckerman is wishing the same thing." Kurt smirked knowingly.

"Don't meddle." Blaine shook his head. "Please, Kurt, don't meddle. She's not ready to jump into a relationship… with anyone, let alone Noah Puckerman. I know he shaved off the mohawk and he may be in a uniform but he's still the same player he was ten years ago."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I know what I'm doing. And I'm not meddling… I'm helping two friends. Two very good, lonely, emotionally-stunted friends."

"Kurt." Blaine raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not meddling." Kurt repeated before going to join Tina and Rachel before they made any fashion decisions.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: Okay, so Santana may seem like a total bitch in this but… she kind of has to for where I want the Pezberry storyline to go. I know it seems like Rachel and Santana will never be friends but they will. Soon.

* * *

Rachel was the first to arrive at the dance studio two weeks later on the day they were having their first class. She had woken up at nearly five am because she was so excited and couldn't sleep. She jogged about a mile before taking a quick shower. She was at the studio by eight. She was grateful Kurt had agreed to do this with her because she never would have had this place ready in two weeks. She was a little amazed by how nice it looked.

Kurt and Tina arrived soon after. Rachel didn't really get nervous until the parents started showing up for the first class. Tina had the kids ages 14 and up; Kurt with ages 9-13; and Rachel with all of them 6-8. They didn't take kids younger than that. Rachel was really excited for her first class. She had most of the names of kids memorized before they even walked in the door.

It wasn't until she saw Finn walk through the front door that she wished she had skipped breakfast. She could feel her food begin to eat its way up her throat when he stopped directly in front of her.

"I told San not to do this but she basically forced me to." Finn sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel forced herself to form the words.

Finn cleared his throat and stepped to the side to reveal a small, brunette girl. "This is Maria." Finn told Rachel and Rachel felt herself tense suddenly.

The little girl in front of her couldn't be more than six. Rachel gripped the table beside her for support and she could vaguely hear Finn asking if she was alright. She blocked him out because the girl in front of her… it wasn't just the girl's dark complexion and brown her, making her look exactly like Santana but because the brown eyes staring back at her were the same eyes she had fallen asleep next to for years. The same eye's she had once loved.

"I…" Rachel could already feel the tears coming.

"I tried to talk Santana out of it but she thought Maria would benefit from some ballet lessons. I told her there were plenty of other dance studios in Lima but she really want Maria to come to this one." Finn told her, not even noticing the way Rachel was struggling to breathe.

"Everything okay here?" Kurt walked over and he gasped when he saw Maria. "Oh, dear Barbra, you're kidding me right!" Kurt glared at Finn. "Did I say not to bring her here?"

"Yea, well, it's either you being pissed at me or Santana." Finn shrugged. "I think I'll take my chances with you."

"Outside, now, Finn." Kurt grabbed Finn's stupid puffer vest that should have been left in high school and dragged him outside.

"Are you going to teach me?" The little girl asked, making Rachel wanted to just close her eyes and disappear because she sounded like Finn too.

Rachel took a deep, cleansing breath and kneeled down, forcing herself to smile at Maria. "Yes." Rachel nodded, fighting the tears with all she had. "I believe so. I think you're going to like ballet."

"That's what my mom said." Maria looked around and then her eyes found Rachel's again. "You're pretty… just like my Mommy."

Rachel bit down onto her tongue to stop the sob from tearing through her throat and nodded. "Thank you. You're a very pretty little girl as well."

"Do you have any kids?" Maria asked.

Rachel sniffled and looked away. "No. I don't."

"Oh… okay." Maria skipped off to join a group of girls her age.

Rachel straightened up and wiped away a few tears. Tina came over and hugged Rachel, who was very grateful her friends were here.

"I can take over your class." Tina suggested. "We can switch."

"No." Rachel shook her head suddenly. "I'm fine. I can do this." _Maybe._

* * *

"Your best friend is an ass." Kurt slid onto the barstool next to Puck that night. Puck grunted in response and gulped down half of his beer. "He actually had the audacity to bring Maria into the studio today. She's six so she's in Rachel's ballet class."

"Rachel knows about Maria?" Puck asked, tensing visibly, his fingers tightening on the bottle in his hands.

"She does now." Kurt nodded. "You should have seen her today. Every time she thought Tina and I weren't watching she would break down and start crying again. She tried so hard to hold it together today but… you could tell seeing Maria really got to her." He sighed. "I've never seen her this defeated."

"She cried?" Puck clenched his jaw. "Like real tears?"

"After the kids left Tina and I could hear her sobbing in the bathroom." Kurt pursed his lips. "I knew Santana was a bitch but this was an all-time low for her."

* * *

Rachel had just blow-dried her hair when she heard her phone buzzing on her nightstand. It was a text from Puck. _Open your front door_.

Rachel rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the smile that took over her lips as she took the stairs down two at a time to find Puck standing on her front porch.

"That text was a little creepy." Rachel moved so he could walk in.

"I rang the doorbell for about five minutes." He replied, kicking his shoes into the corner, letting Rachel know he planned on being here for a little while. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little happy about that. "You never answered."

"I was drying my hair." She told him, locking the door back.

"I saw Kurt at the bar today." He tried to be subtle.

"You did?" Rachel brushed past him and he followed her into the living room.

"You doing okay?" He asked. "He told me about what happened with Finn."

Rachel avoided his eyes and shrugged. "He's always wanted a family. I guess he's got one now."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Her voice waivered.

"Okay." He nodded. "We can watch a movie." He reached for her remote and flipped through the stations, finding Pay It Forward, a great movie in his opinion.

They sat on the couch for a while, watching the movie silently, and somehow Rachel found herself a warm spot, tucked under Puck's arm with her head basically in his lap. When she started crying near the end she told him it was only because it was a sad scene and she thought Helen Hunt did an amazing job in the movie. He didn't believe her. He didn't question it but he did reach down to grip her hand as the tears slid down her cheeks and dripped onto his jeans. And when the movie was over and she told him she was fine… he didn't believe her then either.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.

* * *

Rachel had wrapped her class up about an hour ago but she found herself sitting here next to Puck and Mike as they watched Tina dance around, showing the older kids some more experienced moves. Mike was smiling widely at his fiancé, mesmerized by her movements and Rachel could tell he was itching to go kiss her. It probably wouldn't be appropriate with the number of impressionable children in the room.

The class was just starting to wind down when Puck dragged Rachel over into a corner. "You look better today." He stated. It had been a week since that night on her couch. They hadn't really talked about it, not that Puck hadn't tried. Rachel just avoided the subject and insisted she was perfectly fine.

"That's because I am better." Rachel smiled to reassure him. "I was being silly."

"It's not silly, Rach." Puck shook his head. "You can't keep bottling up these emotions. It's not good for you. I thought I told you that I would be here for you. I'm always ready to listen if you need to bitch."

"That's very thoughtful but I'm fine, Noah." Rachel looked over at Tina, spinning around, and the smaller girl frowned.

Rachel saw it before it actually happened. The floor was wet with sweat and just as Tina did this small leap, Rachel took a step forward, ready to yell out, but it was too late. Tina landed in the pool of sweat and down she went, landing on her hip with a thud.

Rachel and Mike were at her side in seconds. "Are you okay?" Rachel asked.

"I think so." Tina nodded, sitting up with help from Mike. "We're fine."

Rachel's brow furrowed when Tina let the 'we' slip. They knit together further when she noticed that Tina was cradling her stomach. "Tina." Rachel whispered. "Are you…?"

Rachel felt her throat closing up. "We didn't want to tell you." Tina shook her head. "Mike and I know how hard it's been on you and I didn't want to rub salt in the wound. I'm so sorry, Rachel."

"You're pregnant." Rachel pursed her lips together and then forced a smile. "That's… amazing." She stood quickly and rushed off. She grabbed her purse, disappearing from the studio before anyone could stop her.

Mike looked from Puck and back to Tina. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"It was just a little fall." Tina told him. "Right now, I'm more worried about Rachel."

/

"You didn't show up at the bar tonight." Puck stated when Rachel let him in her front door that night. "We all missed you. Kurt sends his love or some shit."

This had become a usual thing for them. He would show up at her house, usually pretty late, and they would just watch a movie or talk. And sometimes they fell asleep tangled up on her bed, no big deal.

"I wasn't in the mood tonight." She explained and led him towards her bedroom after stopping at the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. He shot her a pointed look. "Please just drop it, Noah."

"Mike and Tina are really sorry." He sighed, toeing off his shoes by her bedroom door. "They didn't want to keep it from you but they didn't want to hurt you anymore either."

"Honestly, I'm tired of everyone tiptoeing around me. I'm a big girl. I can handle it. I don't need all of you sugarcoating this for me." She sat cross-legged on the bed while he uncorked the bottle of wine. She held both glasses out to him and he filled them, all the way to the brim, which made her giggle. "Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Puckerman?"

He smiled down at her, glad she seemed to be in a better mood and sat down on the bed next to her. "Believe me, Rachel, I don't need you drunk. If I wanted you…" He leered over at her and she fought back a shudder. "I'd have you."

"I'm sure you would." She replied, meeting his gaze. "Now what movie do you want to watch tonight?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.

"You pick." He settled back against her pillows and finished off his glass of wine. That hadn't taken him long. He sat the glass on the bedside table and watched her move from the bed to the movie cabinet against the wall. "But no musicals, babe." His eyes watched her closely and he mentally slapped himself when he caught himself checking out her ass when she bent over to inspect her collection of movies.

"What about this one?" She asked, spinning around to show him what she had picked.

He nodded and put it in for her, while she got comfortable on the bed. "Let's get this party started." He smirked and moved back to his spot beside her, pulling her closer to him.

Her head rested on his chest and she squirmed to get comfortable. Her glass of wine was left, half-finished, on her nightstand but she told herself that it was the alcohol warming her body and not the way his arms were wrapped around her.

/

Rachel woke slowly to the sound of someone ringing her doorbell. She furrowed her brow and lifted her head to find Puck still snoring peacefully beside her. "Noah." She smacked his chest. He stirred slightly but didn't wake up. "Go answer the door." She shook him a little more roughly and he jolted awake.

"Huh?" He sat up and Rachel burrowed her face under her pillow. "Fuck." He groaned when he saw that it was barely past eight in the morning. "Who the fuck is here this early?" He asked.

"Get rid of them." Rachel told him. "Please, Noah."

"I'm going." He grumbled and stood up.

Rachel's raised her eyebrows when she watched him stretch out beside her bed. His hand reached down to scratch his stomach. When exactly did he lose his shirt last night? Her eyes followed him out of the room and a few seconds later she could hear muffled voices.

She jerked up in the bed when she heard a shrill shriek and then Noah swearing. "The fuck, Hummel?" Puck's voice drifted back to her and she screwed her eyes shut. "You can't go showing up at people's houses and start screaming like that."

"This isn't your house." Kurt's voice pointed out haughtily. "Which raises the question as to why your shirt is missing." Even though Rachel couldn't see him, she could see the smirk on her friend's face clearly.

Puck then grumbled something about kicking his ass before shuffling off to the bathroom. Rachel peeked out from under the blanket a few seconds later to see Blaine and Kurt standing in her doorway.

"Kiss any frogs lately, Rachel?" Kurt asked. "Or have you already found Prince Charming?"

"Kurt." Blaine warned.

"A half-naked Noah Puckerman just answered her front door!" Kurt's eyes widened dramatically. "I have questions."

Puck came back into the room then and found his way back under the covers, pulling them over his head to block out the light streaming in from the window. "Take this chick-fest somewhere else." He told them. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

Rachel bit into her lip and then led Blaine and Kurt out into the living room. She left them there, taking as much time as she could to brush her teeth, change, etc. When she had decided they had suffered enough, she made her way back to the living where Kurt was basically bouncing on the couch.

"Answers, Diva, I want them." Kurt spoke up the second she sat down on the loveseat.

"Nothing happened." Rachel shrugged. "Sometimes Noah comes over to watch a movie. Sometimes he falls asleep. It's not a big deal."

"How often is sometimes?" Blaine asked.

"Every night for the past two weeks." Rachel admitted sheepishly.

Puck appeared in the doorway then, dressed in his clothes from last night and he seemed to be about to leave. "I just got called in." He explained to Rachel. "I'll call you later." He leaned to give her a quick peck on the cheek before swiftly walking out of her front door.

Rachel pursed her lips, Blaine's mouth fell open as his eyebrows rose to dangerous heights, and Kurt asked the question that was on all three of their tongues. "When did that start happening?"


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

Rachel walked into the bar that night to find Tina and Mike having a small celebration at a table with Kurt, Blaine, and Puck. "Hey." Rachel sat down next to Puck. "What's going on?"

"Champagne." Mike replied. "Do you want some? We're all having some to celebrate the pregnancy."

"Actually, I'm just having water." Tina clarified and sipped from her glass.

"If this is weird for…" Mike trailed off when he noticed Rachel's forced smile.

"I'm fine, guys. I was just a little shocked at first but I'm really happy you two. Tina is going to be an amazing mom." Rachel nodded, her smile a little brighter. She really was happy for her friends and she didn't want to make them think otherwise. "And I'm sure that Mike is going to be an exceptional dad. You two deserve this." She reached for the glass Mike was holding out to her. "Thank you, Mike."

"You sure you're okay?" Puck whispered into her ear.

"Would you just stop asking me that?" She snapped back, a little harsher than she meant to. The hurt puppy dog look he gave to her didn't help her conscious. "I'm sorry; I just need you to stop treating me like I'm a child. I'm not going to break, Noah."

He nodded and slung his arm around her shoulders, breaking the tension in the group and then the conversation flowed easily. Tina and Mike announced that they were nearly 30 weeks pregnant – no one was really sure how the two had hid the pregnancy this long – and that it was a girl. Rachel stopped drinking after two glasses of champagne, she didn't trust herself, so instead she opted to watch Puck and Mike finish on the bottle before moving onto beer.

Kurt and Blaine decided to call it an early night and left around seven. Mike and Tina left not long after and that left Rachel sipping on her water in a booth next to Puck. He looked like he was scouting out the girls at the bar and Rachel looked around herself.

She spotted the tall man almost instantly. He was hunched over the counter, flirting pretty heavily with this fake blonde, who was sipping on a martini. She furrowed her brow and turned to Puck. "What is Finn doing?" Rachel was not jealous. She wasn't. She was over Finn. But it just didn't set right for him to be hitting on some drunken woman while he had a wife and child at home.

Puck set his jaw and looked away from Finn. "I'll be right back." He replied shortly before sliding out of the booth and heading outside, pulling his cell phone from his back pocket on the way.

Rachel sat a little restlessly at the booth for a while but when Puck hadn't come back in after five minutes, she walked out of the bar to find him. He was standing near his car, having a heated conversation with some unknown person over his phone. He saw Rachel and quickly ended the call.

"Sorry." He smiled. "It was nothing. You want to get out of here? We can go back to your place and watch a movie or something." He suggested.

"I think I'd rather go home and take a nice, long bath." She admitted truthfully. "Rain check? I'll let you pick the movie tomorrow night and I'll pop some popcorn."

"I'll bring the booze." He met her halfway and pulled her into a hug.

Rachel melted against him, reciprocating his hug and they stood there for a few seconds, probably a few seconds too long, before they finally separated. He smiled down at her, planting a kiss on her forehead before telling her goodnight. He made sure she was in her car and on her way home safely before heading out himself.

/

"You want to do what?" Kurt stood up suddenly from the chair at her kitchen table the next day and stared at her dumbfounded. "That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard."

"I have to do something." Rachel sighed.

"Then you give her a cute outfit or a nice toy for the baby." Kurt shook his head. "You don't decide to throw a baby shower. After everything, Rachel, I honestly don't think you can handle this. I know you want to be strong and not let this hold you back anymore but what happened to you was traumatic. It is hard and no matter how badly you just want to forget about it—"

"Forget?" Rachel whispered harshly. "There is not one second that I wish to forget. I don't want to pretend that I wasn't pregnant. I was, Kurt, and yes, I'll admit that my miscarriage was hard on me and sometimes I still get upset but…" She paused to take a deep breath. "I have to do this. For Tina and Mike and for myself. I'm going to throw this party whether you decide to help or not. I'm Tina's friend and I'm doing this. Now will you please help me pick out the damn colors for the decorations?" The tears stung at her eyes by the time she finished her spiel and she tried to wipe them away quickly but the way she was sniffling let Kurt know she was crying.

"Okay." Kurt replied softly. "I'll help."

"Thank you." She nodded and shoved the book of sample colors towards him. "I was thinking pink and brown… or yellow. Tina likes yellow."

"Yellow is good." Kurt smiled softly.

/

"I'm glad I have you, Noah." Rachel whispered into his chest that night. "I don't know what I would have down these past few months if it wasn't for you."

"Mmm." He hummed the agreement and shifted slightly, not noticing that he was pulling her closer. "Kurt told me about the baby shower."

"Do you agree with him?" She asked. "He thinks I shouldn't do it."

He was quiet for a few minutes, his eyes closed as he thought it over. "Does it really matter what I think? Even if I told you what I think you should do, you'll just do whatever you want anyways."

"So you don't think I should do it either?" She huffed.

"I didn't say that." He told her firmly and they let the subject drop.

Rachel looked up at him. "You never told me what was going on with Finn last night. You got upset when you saw him at the bar and then you started yelling at someone on your phone. Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Rachel." He shrugged.

"Is he cheating on Santana?" She whispered the question. She hated Santana and a little part of her thought that Finn cheating on his wife would serve the Latina right. But mostly, Rachel just wanted Puck to say no.

He didn't say anything though. He kept quiet and didn't even dignify her with a shrug. "It's late, Rachel. I should get home. I have to work early tomorrow." He slipped out of her bed and pulled his shoes on.

"Before you go," She jumped from the bed and rushed over to dresser. "Kurt got this gift card from some client of his. He said that he'll never use it so he gave it to me. It expires next week and I really don't want it to go to waste."

She looked at him expectantly and he stared back before a smile broke out over his face. "I'd love to go, Rach." He leaned down slightly to kiss her forehead. "How about Saturday? I'll pick you up at six?" His lips met hers for a few seconds before they quickly tore apart and he stepped back.

"Y-yea." She nodded, swallowing thickly. "That sounds good."

"G'night." He gave her one last smile before heading out of her bedroom and then she heard her front door shut quietly.

"Night." She whispered and gripped the gift card in her hands.

She grappled for her phone and dialed Kurt's home number from memory. He didn't pick up and she groaned in frustration. She tried his work number and luckily he answered after the third ring.

"This better be important, Rachel." Kurt sounded a little annoyed. "I have the most demanding client in my office right now, spouting out demands like he's a damn god. I have officially met someone that is a bigger diva than you. The apocalypse must be coming soon." He paused for a second. "Anyway, what did you call for?"

"I think I have a date with Noah Puckerman."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.

A/N: First Puckleberry date in this chapter. Are you excited?

* * *

"What's going on?" Blaine whispered over to Rachel, where she was sitting on her bed with him as Kurt tore through her closet. "I don't think I've ever seen him act this way." Rachel giggled when she heard Kurt vaguely mumble something about planning a date on such short notice.

"I think I broke him." Rachel replied when Kurt came out of the closet empty-handed and he looked about ready to scream.

"You have nothing appropriate to wear on such a special occasion." Kurt cried, exasperated.

"Special occasion?" Rachel raised her eyebrows. "It's not like it's a dinner party or wedding, Kurt. It's just a date." She shrugged and moved to sift through the dresses she still had hanging up. Most of her clothes were in a pile of the floor but, thankfully, Kurt had knocked everything down.

"_Just_ a date?" Kurt threw his arms up. "This is a date with Noah Puckerman, Rachel. Do you know how long I have been waiting for this? _Years._ I have been hoping for this date since high school. You have a date with Puck and you aren't going to ruin this for me." He ripped the dress she had picked out from her hands and tossed it onto the floor. "You need sexy, Rachel. Do you know how long it's been since you've had sex?" Rachel frowned and shrugged. "Two years, four months, and ten days. I've been counting."

"Kurt!" Rachel slapped his arm.

"Two years?" Blaine raised his eyebrows. "That's a really long time."

Kurt nodded in agreement and then looked back at Rachel. "This night needs to be perfect. Puck could be your prince, Rachel, and first dates are more important than first impressions."

Rachel took a deep breath and surveyed her closet. She reached for a short blue dress and held it up to her body. "What about this one?" She asked. It was kind of shiny and she had only worn once to a small party with her cast mates when she was in a small off-Broadway production.

Blaine nodded and Kurt smiled. "It's perfect." Kurt clapped his hands together in excitement.

Rachel grinned, spinning around to study herself in the mirror. The dress was pretty cute and for the first time since Noah had agreed to go out with her she was nervous. She hadn't given the date much thought but now that Kurt had brought sex into the equation, she suddenly found her stomach coiling in direction she hadn't thought possible.

/

Puck glanced over at Rachel from across the small table. She had been unusually quiet through most of dinner and it was kind of weird. He didn't like how she was acting and wondered what could possibly be wrong with her.

"You okay?" He asked and her head snapped up towards him.

"I'm fine." She nodded. Why was this so awkward? She had never had trouble making conversation with Noah, or anyone for that matter, so neither one was sure what was going on. "How was your day?" She questioned, hoping to break some of the awkwardness between them.

"Slow." He replied. "The crime rate in Lima is next to zero. I did have a domestic disturbance, though."

"Oh…" They fell silent again.

"This place is really nice." He looked around. "I feel a little out of place here." He admitted and gestured to the clothes he had on. "This was the nicest thing I own."

"If it makes you feel any better, I kind of hate this restaurant." She smiled. "This is where lawyers and accountants go to lunch. It's a little too snooty for my taste."

"You wanna get out of here, then?" He asked. "I know this awesome burger joint a few blocks from my place."

Rachel looked down at the food on her plate. She had barely eaten any of it so she sat her fork down and smiled at Noah, pulling the gift card out of her purse. "If Kurt asks we had an amazing time here and the food was delicious."

"Deal." Puck smirked, waving the waitress over.

The drive to the diner Puck had been talking about was quiet but not awkward. Rachel sang softly with the radio and Puck tried to concentrate on driving. They pulled into a small parking lot a few minutes later and then Puck was opening her door for her.

"Now I feel out of place." Rachel laughed as she sat in a booth in the corner of the small diner, a veggie burger in front of her. "I'm way too dressed up for a place like this."

"This is where all of the crazies eat." He shrugged, taking a huge bite from his burger. "You fit right in."

/

Puck decided a walk was in order after their burger run so he left his car in the parking lot and led Rachel in the other direction. She didn't realize where he was taking her until she saw the swings.

"The park?" She asked, a small smile brightening her eyes.

"I remembered that you used to spend the entire recess swinging and belting out song lyrics back in the third grade." He replied and sat down on one of the old swings in the city park.

She nodded, sitting in the one next to him and looked up at the moon. "I had a different song for each day of the week." She laughed when he walked behind her to push her softly.

"I liked Fridays because you always sang 'Castle on a Cloud'." He told her quietly. "That was my favorite song. I looked forward to it all week." He admitted, forcing back the blush that threatened to form on his cheeks.

She craned her neck to look at him behind her and she gripped the chains harder when he stopped the swing suddenly. "That was my favorite song, too." She whispered. "That's why I waited until the end of the week to sing it." Her eyes darted back and forth between his lips and his eyes, noticing that he was moving closer.

Her breath caught in her throat and she tried to stop from shaking. His breath skid across her cheek and then his lips were sliding across hers. Her eyes fell shut and she sucked in a breath when his lips pressed against her a little more firmly. She could feel his hand come to rest on her hip, holding her in place on the swing, while his other hand slid roughly across her cheek and stopped at her neck, tilting her head back to kiss her fully. She gripped the chains of the swing painfully hard when his tongue licked across her bottom lip and when she moaned, she felt him shudder.

His tongue danced into her mouth slowly as he kissed her and soon she found herself kissing him back. She wasn't sure how long they stayed in that position, kissing on the swings, but he finally pulled away and they were both out of breath.

"Rachel." He whispered and his voice sounded strained.

"Take me home, Noah." Her reply was soft and he nodded, gripping her hand to pull her from the swing.

Their hands stayed like that on the drive to her house. Their fingers were tangled together until they reached her porch and she unlocked her front door.

"Tonight was amazing." She told him and smiled. "I almost forgot what it was like to be on a date."

He smirked and leaned towards her slightly. "Anytime, Berry."

She laughed softly and he looked at her, trying to read her thoughts. "Tonight felt like one of those scenes from a sappy romance movie." She looked over at her front door and then looked back at Noah, sucking in a breath. "I think this is the part where I invite you inside."

His smirk fell and he stepped back from her. "I had a really great time, Rachel, but I really should get home. I have to work early in the morning and I really miss my bed." He stepped off of porch.

"Oh…" She tried not to look hurt and she was just glad his back was to her because she was failing miserably.

"Tonight was nice. I'll call you." He called that part over his shoulder before Rachel darted into the house without a good-bye. He clenched both of his fists and forced himself to leave before he could follow Rachel inside the house.

* * *

A/N: I kind of left this on an angsty note but don't worry, Kurt will definitely do some more meddling in the next chapter. Blaine might just get pulled into this scheme as well, I'm not sure yet. The next chapter might have the baby shower but if it doesn't, it will be in the one after. I have some major plans for the baby shower so I think that it will be a good little Puckleberry moment.

Anybody have any ideas on what you want Puck and Rachel to do on their next date?


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: This chapter is a little short so I apologize. Tina's baby shower will be in the next update and we'll have some Puckleberry goodness then.

/

Rachel plopped into the chair across from Kurt at the coffee house the next night. He had suggested they go to the bar to talk but she didn't want to risk running into Noah.

"Tell me everything." Kurt said as soon as she sat down. He pulled his cup to his lips and took a long sip while he watched Rachel try to sort through the thoughts jumbled in her head.

"His exact words were 'tonight was nice. I'll call you.' I'll call you! What the hell does that even mean?" She let out a breath that sounded more like a hiss because her teeth were clenched together. "We had a perfectly good evening and then he went off and ruined it with six words."

"It's not that bad." Kurt shook his head half-heartedly.

"Kurt, that is like the go-to line when the date was horrible but you don't want to hurt the other person's feelings. I mean, we have been so… I don't even know how to describe what we are to each other. We did things like we were a couple. He would sleep over all the time and sometimes he would kiss me for no reason." She groaned. "I don't know what went wrong. Maybe saying it was an actual date freaked him out?"

"Maybe." Kurt agreed because he didn't know what else to say. "Did he kiss you last night?"

"No… well, I guess he did." She sighed. "At the park. We were on the swings and he kissed me, then I told him to take me home. God, I feel so stupid, I basically told him I wanted to sleep with him last night and he completely blew me off. I fumbled with my key, I stood on the porch way longer than I should have, and finally I just invited him inside. I don't know if he didn't pick up on the hints or he did and he just doesn't think of me that way. I was so dumb to actually think he liked me like that. He's a friend, a great friend, and I'm pretty sure I just shredded any chance of keeping that friendship after last night."

"Obviously he thinks of you that way, Rachel." Kurt rolled his eyes. "It's Puck, he thinks of every girl that way."

"Not making me feel better, Kurt." She smiled weakly at him. "What if he just doesn't want me? I mean, am I so bad that he can't even fathom the idea of sleeping with me?" She bit into her lip, refusing to let the next thought spill out of her lips.

Unfortunately, Kurt knew her too well and knew exactly what he was thinking. "What if he thinks you're broken?" He whispered her unspoken question and she nodded, the tears welling up in her eyes. "He's not like that, Rachel, and you know it. He cares about you. Puck was trying to do the right. He knows that you aren't the girl that sleeps around on the first date and he also knows that you aren't ready to start up a serious relationship. The man just went about it the wrong way. Plus, you're Rachel, so obviously you took his words the wrong way and a little too seriously."

Rachel blew out a shaky breath and wiped away the tears quickly. "You really think he was just trying to be a gentleman?" She asked desperately. She hated that she wanted Noah so badly, but at the same time, she knew it was useless to fight her feelings for Noah. She was hooked the first time she saw him in that damn uniform.

Kurt nodded and smiled at her. "Definitely."

Rachel chewed on that for a few minutes and then looked around. "Where's Blaine? I texted both of you to show up."

"I have no idea." Kurt shrugged innocently and tried not to look guilty. Unfortunately, Rachel knew him just as much as he knew her so she realized something was going on. She was just too nice not to pry any longer. Whatever Kurt was up to couldn't be that bad.

/

"I see you finally dragged your ass back to the bar." Blaine sat down on the stool beside Puck, both of the boys now sipping on their beers. "You haven't been here in a while."

Puck grunted, trying to tell Blaine he didn't want the company right now.

"How did your date with Rachel go?" Blaine questioned. "Because Kurt texted me about an hour ago to say that Rachel was pretty upset about something you did. Or didn't do." He mumbled the last part just loud enough for Puck to hear.

"I didn't do shit wrong." Puck looked genuinely offended. "Last night was great. We both had a good time. I don't know why she's pissed."

Suddenly, something was hitting Puck's back and both he and Blaine turned quickly to see Kurt attacking Puck with the smaller man's bag. "You're a stupid, stupid man, Noah Puckerman." Kurt hissed angrily.

"The fuck, Hummel?" Puck grabbed the bag with one hand to halt Kurt's soft blows. "Stop hitting me with your damn purse." He shoved it back at Kurt, who just glared at Puck in response.

"It's a satchel." Kurt clarified but then quickly remembered why he was so mad. He hit Puck one last time on the arm and Puck growled.

"I won't think twice about throwing you in a dumpster." Puck narrowed his eyes. "Now why the hell am I stupid?"

Kurt sighed and sat on the other side of Puck. "You rejected Rachel in the worst way possible. Any other girl wouldn't have been fazed by what you said but Rachel is any girl. She took what you said to heart and now she thinks that you don't want her."

Puck choked on his beer and glared at Kurt. "You're shitting me, right?"

"I'm serious, Puck. She thinks that you don't want her." Kurt raised her eyebrows. "Please tell me she's overreacting."

"Fuck." Puck ran his hands over her face. "I…"

"I told her you were just trying to do the right thing; I said you were being a gentleman by not sleeping with her on the first date. Tell me I didn't just lie to my best friend." Kurt leaned towards Puck.

"She hasn't had sex in like what? Two years? That's a lot of pressure. What if she doesn't… you know?" Puck sighed and closed his eyes. Why was he having this conversation with two gay men?

Blaine snorted a laugh. "I don't know you as well as Kurt does but I'm pretty sure every woman you've ever slept with has _you knowed_."

Puck rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant. What if I don't live up to her standards or whatever?"

"Look here, Puckerman," Kurt glared at Puck. "Rachel is my best friend. You are going to walk over to her house right now and fix this. I have watched my brother tear her down for the last twelve years and I am not about to stand here and watch you fuck this thing up with Rachel just because you're a pussy."

"Hey!" Puck frowned.

"It's time to nut up or shut up." Kurt said.

"Right." Puck nodded. "I should go talk to her." He left his beer on the bar and quickly rushed out.

"I actually think I'm jealous of Rachel Berry right now." Kurt's eyes widened and he turned to Blaine. "I can't believe I just said that." He covered his mouth with his hand.

"I know." Blaine laughed.


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own Glee.

A/N: I actually had this planned out completely different but as I started to type this up, it kind of took off in a very different direction. I'm still pretty happy with it. I can say that the next chapter will have a bit more angst but after that we'll be getting to some happy Puckleberry times.

/

Rachel was in the middle of a long, hot bubble bath when the doorbell's shrill ring sounded through her steamy haze of relaxation. She sighed, slowly lifting herself to her feet and carefully stepped from the tub. She glanced at the clock on the wall as she tied her plushy robe around her waist and her brow furrowed when she saw that it was nearly midnight.

She figured it was just Kurt so when she pulled open her front door she was more than a little surprised to see Puck lifting his head to meet her gaze. "What are you doing here?" She asked and pulled her robe tighter at her neck.

"I talked to Kurt," He replied simply and Rachel bit into her bottom lip when he shoved his hands in his pockets. Why did he always have to look so adorable? "I'm sorry, Rach."

"For what?" She wondered. Wasn't she the one that had overreacted?

He shrugged, "Can I come in?"

She nodded and stepped back, allowing him ample space to brush past her. His wiped his hand over his face and walked the familiar path to her kitchen before leaning against one of the counters. She stood awkwardly in the doorway, still holding tightly to her robe.

"I didn't mean—" He began.

"I know," She cut him off and smiled slightly. "I talked to Kurt, too."

"That man really does like to be in the middle of everything, doesn't he?" Puck grinned when Rachel walked towards him. She stopped a few feet in front of him and tilted her head slightly.

"I think he just cares about us, you know?" She shrugged one shoulder. "He wants us both to be happy. Sometimes he can be a bit crazy but his intentions are always good-hearted."

Puck nodded. "I'm still sorry, though."

She laughed softly and then cocked a brow at him. "Just don't ever feed me that 'I'll call you' line again, okay?" He chuckled and his hands reached out to pull her towards him.

"I haven't slept over in a while," He commented lowly and his lips found her neck. "Think we can change that?" His words were hot on her ear and she fought back the shudder and forced herself to nod.

"Kurt, Tina, and Blaine will be here early tomorrow, though. Tina's baby shower is tomorrow at one o'clock. Are you going to be here? I mean, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. You probably think showers are just for woman but it would mean a lot to Tina… and to me," She looked up at him through her lashes.

"I think I can stick around for a while," He pulled back and smiled at her.

/

"We're here!" Kurt basically skipped into Rachel's house with bags of gifts for Tina. "Blaine's bringing in the rest of them," He smiled at Tina and Rachel on the way into the living room.

"You really don't have to help us decorate, Tina," Rachel told her friend as the smaller brunette hung the banner above the door. "Kurt, Blaine, and I can manage to do this. Why don't you go rest on the couch and I'll bring you some juice."

Tina smiled warily at how motherly Rachel was acting but nodded anyway. "Thanks, Rachel."

Blaine walked through the front door, unloading the last of the gift bags on the small table in the living room and then turned to Rachel, where she was handing a glass to Tina.

"I saw Puck's cruiser parked down the block," Blaine smirked at Rachel. "Is he here?"

Tina and Kurt were both jumping up and about to start heading towards the bedroom upstairs when Rachel blocked their paths. "No," Rachel warned. "He's sleeping."

"Who sleeps past ten in the morning?" Kurt asked, frowning deeply.

"We stayed up late talking," Rachel shrugged.

"Just a peek?" Tina asked and jutted out her stomach, smiling innocently. "It's for the baby."

Rachel rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. She nodded, caving quicker than her friends had expected, and led them up to her bedroom. She demanded they stay as quiet as possible and they only got a peek before they had to come back downstairs.

/

Puck was having a great dream. And no, it wasn't weird he was having a sex dream about Rachel. He was sleeping in her bed and had been pressed up against her backside all night. He hadn't even tried anything so it was only natural that his mind drifted to these naughty thoughts. Rachel was hot and it would be weird if he wasn't thinking about her like this.

But then something really, really bad happened. Right as Rachel was about to start riding him, Tina's voice popped into his head. His brow furrowed and he tried to push the voice away but the more he tried the louder it got. Then Kurt's voice drifted into this dream. Now things were just getting freaky. He really needed to wake up.

"He looks so peaceful," Tina smiled. "Mike's always kicking around in the bed. It gets so bad I sometimes have to make him sleep on the couch."

"I think he's trying to concentrate on something," Kurt whispered quietly, mostly to himself. "Maybe he's thinking about you, Rachel," He nudged his friend teasingly and she elbowed him back.

"Leave him alone and let the poor man sleep," Rachel started to pull her friends from the room but stopped when Puck started to squirm around.

Then his eyes opened and they slowly widened as he took in the four people huddled at the end of the bed, watching him sleep. It took him a few seconds to realize it was real and then he started kicking the sheets back.

"The fuck?" He asked loudly, jumping from the bed. He realized quickly he was only in his boxers. Tina and Blaine were kind enough to look away and Rachel blushed, her eyes trained on his face. Kurt wasn't so nice. He let out a low whistle, his eyes raking down Puck's body.

"Hummel!" Puck yelled, scrambling for the sheet. "Eyes up!"

"Sorry," Kurt drawled out, smirk firmly sitting on his face. "I guess now you know how it feels for women when you ogle them in bars," He raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't feel so good, does it? Especially since you need a cold shower, Puckerman."

This time five pairs of eyes looked down to see a rather large bulge, even through the sheet covering Puck's lower half. He grumbled something lowly, trying to distract from the faint blush covering his cheeks. Noah Puckerman didn't blush. That shit was for chicks.

"Go downstairs," Rachel demanded of Kurt, Blaine, and Tina. "Kurt and Blaine can finish putting up the balloons and Tina, you better have your feet up by the time I get back downstairs."

Her friends slowly drifted back downstairs, Kurt a little slower than the other two.

"I'm sorry about them," Rachel smiled back at Puck. "We didn't mean to wake you. Or scare you," She apologized and then gestured towards the bathroom. "Go ahead and take a shower," Rachel tried to hide her snicker but failed. Puck noticed.

"Are you making fun of me?" He asked and pulled her towards him, much like he did last night, letting the sheet between them fall. This time it was her who blushed when she felt him hard against her stomach. "What do you say you jump in the shower with me?"

"I need to get back downstairs," She countered. "The baby shower will be starting soon and I am the host after all," She leaned up to kiss his lips chastely. "And maybe if you stick around…" She trailed off and he chuckled.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Rachel?" He had a teasing lilt to his voice and it made her smile.

"I'll guess you'll just have to wait and see," She replied smoothly and then broke away from him. "Get your shower, Noah."

/

Puck stayed tucked away in Rachel's kitchen with Blaine most of the night. The women's laughter drifted from the living room and Puck was glad he wasn't in the same room. He had a serious phobia about being in a room full of crazed women. Especially since about a third of the women Rachel invited were pregnant just like Tina. Crazed, hormonal women.

He was perfectly fine eating stale pretzels with Blaine as the two men talked randomly about sports, jumping from baseball to football about every six sentences. Blaine had always been a cool guy and he'd been a pretty great friend to Puck over the years. Puck was wary of the former Warbler at first but after a few weeks he realized that Blaine was a great match for Kurt. Kurt was the crazed over-emotional one in the relationship while Blaine acted as a calming effect for Kurt. The two men's relationship was similar to Rachel and Puck's.

Soon, the laughter died down and everyone was leaving. Puck stood in the doorway of the living room after everyone had left and surveyed the damage. There were gifts bags strewn about and toilet paper littered the floor.

"What the toilet paper for?" Puck asked, watching as Rachel picked up in the majority of the mess and shoved it into the trash can.

"It was a game," She shrugged simply and when she bent to pick up what looked like a forgotten gift, she froze.

"Rach?" Puck stepped closer when he saw her raise to her feet. She was clutching this little yellow pair of shoes. His brow furrowed and then she turned to look at him, pain etched across her face.

"I bought a pair shoes just like this with Finn after our first doctor's appointment. I didn't want to but he said it would make the pregnancy feel more real. He took them with him when he left," She shook her head and he knew she was trying to shake away the unshed tears.

"Rachel," He sighed.

"Tina's pregnant," She whispered. "Not me," Her eyes snapped up to Noah's and he hated what he found there: vulnerability, innocence, pain. "Not me," She shook her head and dropped the shoes. They fell to the floor with a dull thud and she pursed her lips. "Oh, God, _not me_."

Puck took several long strides, closing the distance between them, and caught her before her knees could give out. He didn't even consider trying to make her walk so he scooped her up in his arms easily and soon he was settled on her bed with her curled into his side.

"Are you okay?" He asked, realizing she hadn't cried today. He could deal with her crying but he wasn't sure how he felt about her being absolutely quiet. "I don't mind if you cry, Rach, it won't scare me off."

She shook her head and kissed his cheek. "I don't want to cry. I'm not sad. I'm just… I never really thought too much about never being able to have kids. It was so hard with Finn and everything that happened I didn't even think I wanted to get pregnant again. I guess it's just hitting me a lot harder than I thought it would," She was quiet for a while and then she murmured five words a woman should never have to say. "I can never get pregnant."

"Rachel," He pulled her closer. "I don't care about that," He sensed she needed some kind of reassurance. "I care about you and I'm not going anywhere."


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own Glee.

a/n: I'm a little wary about posting this because a lot of you don't particularly like Santana in this fic. This chapter has a lot of Santana so hopefully you don't hate it too much.

* * *

Getting drinks at the bar with Puck, Kurt, and Blaine had become a nightly occurrence for Rachel. Tina and Mike were busy getting ready for the baby so they didn't come out as much but it was still fun for the four friends that gathered at their usual booth to chat over beer. It didn't hurt that Puck and Rachel had grown much closer since the night of the baby shower.

Rachel looked over at the bar, scanning it absently, and frowned when she saw Finn hitting on some red head. Her brow creased when Finn actually took the woman's hand before leading her out of the bar. She was reminded of that night when she was here with Puck and they had seen Finn flirting pretty heavily with that blonde. Rachel paled when she realized Santana was standing at the end of the bar, watching as Finn and the woman left to do God knows what. Rachel wasn't sure how Finn hadn't noticed his wife was at the bar and she expected Santana to go after him but instead the Latina rushed towards the bathroom.

Rachel excused herself from her table before moving through the bar to follow after Santana. She was gripping the sink when Rachel walked in.

"I saw what happened." Rachel said quietly.

"Come to rub it in?" Santana snarled nastily.

"You…" Rachel let out a breath. "I know that we disliked each other in high school but when I saw that little girl, when I saw _your _little girl, I hated you. I hated you with _everything_ I had. I couldn't figure out why you deserved to have a child and I didn't, why you got Finn and I was left alone. I spent months after Finn left me wondering who made that decision. Who decided I didn't deserve to have my baby? Whose decision was it to take my baby away from me? Why do you deserve the husband and the family and I get left with nothing?" Rachel felt the tears spill over her eyelids but she wiped them away quickly as Santana turned to face her fully. "People told me that God did it for a reason but I couldn't think of one. I couldn't think of what horrible thing I had done that was so bad my baby had to be ripped away from me."

"Rachel?" Santana pursed her lips. "Finn has been cheating on me for the past year. I could deal with him sleeping with other women because he always came home to me. He always came back to me and Maria. Then you came back to Lima and that's all Finn could talk about. That night he pulled you over he kept saying your name in his sleep. I realized that no matter how much I loved him, no matter how much I gave him, he'd _always_ want you. It had always been you, Rachel. I had given him the family but he wanted it with you. I couldn't deal with that. I have been so unhappy for months now but I've sucked it up because of Maria. I wanted to hurt you so much. I wanted you to hurt as much as I had been hurting so that's why I said those things and shoved Maria in your face. I wanted you see how much you were missing." Santana shook her head. "I wanted you to hurt but I think about how I would feel if I had lost Maria." She paused for a second and the bathroom was completely quiet except for the two women taking ragged breaths. "I think that maybe you're already hurting, maybe you've been hurting for the past nine years."

Rachel nodded, taking a step forward. "Leave Finn."

"What?" Santana shook her head. "I can't do that."

"He is cheating on you, Santana. I know you think you're doing the right thing by staying with him but Maria is going to realize how unhappy you two are together. She's going to see how much Finn is hurting you. She may not understand why her parents aren't together but she is going to understand that you love her. I can see that you do. I can see how much that little girl means to you. Leave Finn. Maybe then he'll get a wake-up call and realize how much he's screwed up. Maybe he'll get his act together and you two could try it again. But for right now, _leave Finn_."

Santana was quiet as she bit into her cheek, thinking over everything Rachel had just said.

/

Puck was a little worried when he saw Rachel following Santana into the bathroom but he had noticed Finn leaving with that woman so he knew what was going on. Hell, he'd known Finn had been cheating on his wife for months now. He was the one that told Santana. He and Santana didn't have the best relationship but Santana was one of his closest friends. Puck had tried to get her to dump Finn on his ass but the Latina was adamant about staying with him. Puck was forced to stand on the sidelines because there wasn't anything else he could do. He would just pick up a pint of ice cream and some tissues when Santana called him crying about Finn 'doing it again.'

He was a little surprised though when Santana exited the bathroom, wiping away tears, and Rachel followed. The two women didn't talk but they did share a glance before Rachel walked back over to the booth.

"You okay?" Puck asked, lifting his beer to his lips.

"I'm fine." She nodded and smiled softly.

"Nothing happened in there?" He wondered and gestured towards the bathroom.

"Nothing you need to worry about." Her reply was simple and he left it at that, knowing he could just call Santana later. The way the Latina walked out of the bar let Puck know something had definitely happened in there.

/

"You're leaving?" Finn asked confused. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know, Finn, but we're not staying here." Santana shoved the last box in the back of her car and made sure Maria was buckled safely in her seat. "I realized Maria and I don't need you. We'll be okay on our own."

"You can't just take my daughter away from me, Santana. You're my wife; you can't leave." Finn shook his head. He had to talk some sense into Santana. She was just overreacting.

"Why not? You leave all the time to go that bar and pick up women. You come home smelling like whiskey and sex." Santana whispered harshly so their daughter wouldn't hear. "I'm filing for divorce, Finn. You should get the papers soon."

"You'll regret this, Santana. I've always taken care of you and this is how you repay me?"

"I can take myself." Santana shot back and then moved past him to open the driver's door. "Goodbye, Finn." She drove off without a second thought, leaving Finn to just stare after her.

She wondered if he realized just how much he had messed up. Probably not, it was Finn after all. She honestly had no idea where she was going but she finally pulled into that familiar driveway.

"We're here, sweetie." Santana called back to their daughter. Maria was basically asleep, her small eyelids drooping shut. It was nearly eight o'clock at night so Santana couldn't blame her. She could use a nap as well. "You want to go see Uncle Puck?"

Maria mumbled something and it made Santana's chest tighten. Was she really doing the right thing by leaving Finn? She didn't have time to ponder much more of the question because Puck walked out of the house.

"What are you doing here?" He asked when Santana got out of the car. "Did something happen?"

"I…" Santana pursed her lips and watched as Puck carefully got Maria from the car, letting the sleeping girl rest her head on his shoulder. "I left Finn."

Puck's eyes widened and he searched Santana's face for a few seconds. "It's about fucking time, Lopez." He grumbled.

"It's still technically Hudson." Santana tried to make light of the situation but it just made her eyes water. "Can we stay here for a few days until I figure out where we can go? I know your house is small but I didn't know where else to go."

Puck nodded and held onto Maria a little tighter. "Come on, San. I'll set you two up in my bedroom. I'll take the pull-out."


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own Glee.

A/N: I'm pretty sure there isn't a zoo in Lima but we're just going to pretend, okay?

* * *

Santana was talking in Spanish on the phone when Puck walked into the kitchen. He knew it was her mother by the way Santana silently begged him to take the phone away. Puck smirked and took the phone from Santana.

"Mrs. Lopez? How are you today?" Santana mouthed a thank you to him and he waved it off. Her mom had always liked him. "I'm taking great care of your daughter."

Santana leaned back against the counter and watched Puck end the call. "I still don't know how you do it, Puckerman. My mom turns to putty when she hears your voice."

"She likes me." Puck shrugged.

"I think it's more than that." Santana smiled. "You just have a way of charming the pants off women. I don't know how you do it but I've never seen you in a situation you can't talk your way out of."

"It's one of my many talents." He pulled the fridge open. "You want breakfast, right?"

"Yea, but you don't have anything edible in this house except for ramen noodles and TV dinners." Santana rolled her eyes. "You've lived on your own for years, Puckerman, and you still don't know how to cook?"

"I called Rachel. She's going to bring some breakfast over from that diner you like. Don't worry, she's getting your favorite." Puck glanced at her worried expression.

"Rachel's not going to like me being here, is she?" Santana pursed her lips. "I don't want to make her mad. I mean, I don't know how close you two are but I know you care about her."

"I've already talked to her about it." He shrugged. "She understands why you're here. Besides, you and I haven't fucked around since high school and I'm not about to jump on that crazy train again."

"Why must you bring Ozzy into everything?" She rolled her eyes. Puck grinned and scratched his stomach. It wasn't until then that Santana realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. "When is she getting here?"

"In about fifteen minutes." He glanced at the clock. "Maria should be up soon. She went to bed pretty early."

"She keeps asking when we're going to go home to daddy." Santana sank into a chair and looked at Puck. "I had to tell her that Finn and I are spending some time apart."

"She'll be okay, San. She's a smart girl and she's got a good head on her shoulders." Puck assured her. "You two are staying here for as long as you want but you're not going back to Finn."

"We've been living here for two weeks, Puck. Finn keeps calling me asking me to come home." Santana chewed on her lip. "I'm temtped to say yes."

"He cheated on you, Santana. You can't go back to him."

"What about all things I've done to him? I've cheated on him, too."

"That was years ago before you were even married. You two weren't even serious yet. He didn't just cheat on you... he cheated on Maria, too." Puck shook his head. "You can't forgive him. Not that easily. I'm not trying to tell you what to do but you meet with the lawyers next week. Maybe when he gets the divorce papers he'll realize how much he fucked up."

"You know," Santana smiled weakly. "Rachel said the same thing."

"Well, we both can't be wrong, now can we?" Puck told her. "Now go finish getting ready for work. Rachel's bringing breakfast and you'll have to hurry if you don't want to be late."

"Are you sure about taking Maria to the zoo today?" Santana asked. "You two can just stay in."

"I take Maria to the zoo once a month. I'm not going to back out when I told her yesterday we were going," Puck shrugged. "It'll be fine. We'll be back later today around the time you get off work. You just relax and take it easy for today. I've got Maria."

Santana pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay."

"Now go get ready," Puck ordered before going to answer the door when Rachel knocked.

Santana was gone from the kitchen when he walked back in to help Rachel set up the breakfast.

"Good morning," Rachel smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "How's everything going? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. I didn't realize how much I liked you coming over and staying with me every night."

"I know. I haven't slept over in a week," He sighed and moved to kiss her mouth fully. "Everything's been busy but as soon as everything calms down I'm sleeping over again."

"I hope so," She pecked his lips one more time before moving to get some plates and forks. "Is everything going okay with Santana and Maria?" She asked.

"Yea," He replied, helping her to dish out the food and set the table. "Maria's starting to ask question though and Santana's freaking out."

"That's to be expected, Noah. She's been married to Finn for years and she loved him. It doesn't matter if he hurt her like he has, her feelings aren't going to disappear overnight. You have to understand what she's going through. She's about to go through a divorce and that can be emotionally draining on anyone."

"I know," Puck sighed. "I just hate that Maria is getting dragged through this. Finn is such an ass, you know, and I wish I could just beat some sense into him. He's giving up a great thing with San and Maria."

Rachel nodded. "I understand."

"Look who's up," Santana walked back into the kitchen holding Maria. "She's only been up three minutes and she's already asked six times when Uncle Puck is going to take her to see the giraffes."

"You're going to the zoo today?" Rachel asked and looked to Puck.

"He takes me every month," Maria moved from Santana's arms to a chair at the table. "Usually mommy goes too but she has to work. I guess it's just going to be me and Uncle Puck."

"Well," Puck moved to stand next to Rachel. "I was thinking we could invite Rachel to go with us. She likes the giraffes, too."

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that," Rachel shook her head. "Going to the zoo is a family thing. I don't want to impose on that."

"She can come," Maria said. "I like Miss Berry. She's always nice to me in my dance class."

"Is she?" Santana sat down next to her daughter. "Maybe you could show me some of your moves later. I'd love to see them."

"Okay," Maria nodded before starting to eat.

"Noah, I can't come with you today," Rachel shook her head.

"You don't have any other plans and Maria already said you could come," Puck shrugged. "What's the big deal? You used to love to go to the zoo."

Rachel pursed her lips before sitting down in a chair across from Santana. "Okay," She nodded. "As long as it's okay with Santana."

Santana met Rachel's eyes. "Just make sure Puck doesn't try to leave my daughter with the monkeys again," She smiled softly and Rachel grinned.

"I didn't_ try_ to leave her," Puck frowned with his mouth full of biscuit. "I just lost her for a few seconds. She's short and she ran off. It wasn't my fault."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Rachel promised and Santana nodded gratefully.

/

"What about this one?" Puck asked Maria and held her firmly on his shoulders. "Do you see the tigers?" He questioned and moved a step closer.

"I see them!" She pointed wildly. "Do you see 'em, Rachel? They're right there!"

"I see them," Rachel laughed and looked at Puck. "Do you see them, Noah?"

"I can't see anything with this girl hanging all over me," Puck teased and lifted Maria off his shoulders, standing her safely on her feet beside him. "What do you say we go get something to eat now, Maria?"

"Okay," She agreed and took his hand. "Come on, Rachel, I don't want to leave you here."

Rachel grinned when the little girl took her hand and the three started to walk towards the front of the zoo where the cafe was.

"Is Rachel your girlfriend, Uncle Puck?" Maria asked once they were all sitting down at a small table to eat. "Because mommy said when two people like each other they kiss and I haven't seen you two kiss."

"Rachel is my girlfriend," Puck answered her and Rachel blushed. "You want to see me kiss her?"

"Noah," Rachel warned but Maria was giggling as Puck over to press a sloppy kiss to her cheek.

"Eww!" Maria covered her eyes and laughed. "Uncle Puck! You can't kiss a girl in front of everyone. Mommy says you have to do that in your bedroom."

"That's only because your mommy can't keep her hands to herself and the way she kisses would be considered public indecency," Puck mumbled.

"Noah," Rachel smacked his arm. "Maria is right. You should only kiss your girlfriend when you're alone."

"Is that so?" Puck raised a brow.

"Which is why you should come over tonight so we can be alone," She nodded. "You know, so we can _kiss_."

Puck smirked and reached over to pull Rachel's chair closer. "Are you sure, Rach? _Kissing_ is a big deal. I don't mind waiting."

"It's just kissing," Maria frowned. "I kiss all the time. It's no big deal, Uncle Puck."

Rachel laughed when Puck turned to the little girl. "And just who are you kissing, Maria?"

The little girl pursed her lips and shook her head. "Mommy said not to tell you because then you'd get mad. It's just this boy in my class."

"You're too young to be kissing anyone," Puck grumbled. "I want to meet this boy."

Maria laughed. "I don't think so, Uncle Puck. He's nice, though. He pushes me on the swings when we got outside and he even shoved another boy for pulling my ponytail."

"See," Rachel smiled fondly. "He's a gentleman."

"There's no such thing," Puck countered.

"Girls need their secrets, Noah," Rachel moved to help Maria put ketchup on her burger. "And I'm sure Maria will let you meet this boy before she takes the _big step_," She laughed when Puck narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's not even remotely funny, Rachel," He bit the words out.

"What's the big step?" Maria asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about until you're _thirty_," Puck told her seriously.


	16. Chapter 16

Hello,

You were probably expecting a new chapter of this fic but we have some bad news. Amber, or as you know her, acaudill0068, has been in a very serious car accident. She was driving back late Saturday night from Tennessee where she was visiting her grandparents when she was struck by a drunk driver. The driver was fine but Amber wasn't so lucky. She is currently in the ICU and was put into a medically induced coma due to brain swelling. The doctors aren't sure how long she's going to be in the coma but it could be days, weeks, months, maybe longer. She's in critical condition right now but everyone is very confident she's going to pull through.

Our names are Crista and Elizabeth and we're close friends of Amber. We know how important her current fics on this site are to her so we were planning on working on them in our spare time to keep them updated while she's still in the hospital. We weren't sure if this would be okay with her readers but we know she doesn't want to make you guys wait for an update. They may not be as often as hers were - weekly - but we'll work on them as much as we can. She's got most of the fics planned out and outlined so we'll stay as close as we can to her ideas.

We'll work to keep everyone updated on her condition and we hope she'll be waking up any day now. As soon as the swelling goes down the doctors plan to awaken her but it's just touch and go right now. She's pretty beat up but she's a very strong and stubborn girl so she won't give up without a fight.

It would be great if you could just leave a review letting us know what you all think about us keeping up with her fics. We'll post as frequently as we can but it may be about a week before we get anything up on the site.

Amber wasn't a very religious person but please keep her in your prayers and, at the very least, send good thoughts her way. She's recovered quite a bit from that trauma of the accident and it only happened last night so that's a great sign. Unfortunately, the swelling hasn't gone down any but we're staying positive! We'll definitely keep you posted on her condition when we do update so there's no need to worry. Her family is by her side and she'll pull through this. We plan to visit her daily or as often as we can to read her the reviews you guys leave.

We know how grateful she is to have such amazing readers so Lizzy and I will work our hardest to keep up with her writing style. Hopefully we won't stray too far from her storylines!

Thanks for reading,

Crista and Elizabeth


	17. Chapter 17

AN: There hasn't been much change since the other day so I don't really have much to say. Amber coded once on Monday and then again on Wednesday because her blood pressure kept bottoming out. In the past few days she's been pretty stable so hopefully she stays like that. The doctors said she may be able to hear everything around her so we've been talking to her a lot. I read most of the reviews you guys left and then Lizzy brought in a stereo. Another of Amber's friends, Derrick, made up a neat playlist with all of her favorite songs. Most of them are by Lea Michele or come from Broadway and the doctors were pretty impressed because a few minutes after the songs started to play her BP started to rise dramatically. We took that as a great sign since it's been pretty low since she was admitted, even with all the medicine the doctors are giving her.

The swelling has gone down quite a bit but the doctors think it's still going to be at least a week before they're able to wake her. They're slightly concerned because they were only anticipating for her to be in the coma for a few days and now it's been almost a week. While there isn't a reason to be worried just yet, the doctors are concerned about cognitive impairment if the swelling doesn't go down sooner.

She has several broken bones - a fractured hip, two broken femurs, a broken ulna, a few cracked ribs, and a broken clavicle - a few bruised ribs, some internal bleeding, and burns covering most of her arms, stomach, and right leg so you can tell she's pretty beat up. Even after all this, we're remaining positive. She _will_ pull through this. We just have to hope it is soon.

When she does wake up, she's still going to have some major problems. The doctors say she'll need a physical therapist because she'll most likely have to learn how to walk again. She also may need a speech therapist if the brain damage she got from the accident is severe. Once she wakes up, her road to recovery is going to take some time. It may be months before she's able to return fully to her life.

I'm not trying to upset anyone by this news but I think everyone needs to know the risks of her condition. There's really no reason to worry at this point. Amber has the best doctors and nurses caring for her so she'll be perfectly fine.

The doctors think the reason it's taking so long for the swelling to go down is because body is working so hard on healing her other wounds. She has 3rd degree burns and those are hard to heal, especially in Amber's state.

Now, I've gotten several messages asking about sending flowers or cards to Amber. While I really appreciate the sentiment I'm going to have to politely decline for three reasons. One, the hospital doesn't like a lot of deliveries, especially in the ICU. Two, Amber does like her privacy so I'm sure if she'd like me giving away her location or anything.

Amber has this unnatural ability to make anyone and everyone like her. She's insanely kind and would go out of her way to help just about anyone. This brings us to my third reason and that is her room is already overflowing from flowers and get-well-cards, and even stuffed giraffes - she love giraffes. Lizzy and I have even decorated her room a bit more to bring in some positive energy.

So, the gifts, though much appreciated, aren't necessary. She's got plenty of friends sending her flowers and such but you all can keep sending good thoughts and keep her in your prayers. All her family and friends, me included, are so thankful for all your kind words and thoughts. They're keeping us all positive so thank you. Her parents really appreciate it, especially her mom.

I'm sure a lot of you were expecting an actual update to these fics and Lizzy and I are both trying really hard to work on them. We both work full-time so it's hard to find time to write on them between work and visiting Amber. I have no idea how Amber found time to keep so many fics going at once because she goes to school full-time and has two full-time jobs. Plus, Lizzy's married and thirty-seven weeks pregnant so she's trying to get ready for the baby. I actually have worked on a few of the chapters but I'm afraid I'm going to go in a different direction than Amber wanted. Hopefully, Amber will be awake soon and then maybe she could tell me what to write since she won't be able to type it up herself.

Also, a lot of people are asking about the drunk driver. To be honest, I really could care less what happens to him. I did hear that he had some internal bleeding that wasn't caught at first so I think he was in the hospital for a few days - luckily, not the same one as Amber - but I'm pretty sure he's still okay. I do know that he will be charged and I think he's even awaiting a hearing now.

I will definitely keep everyone updated on her condition if it dramatically changes or she wakes up. Again, thanks to everyone that has shown their support. I haven't had time to reply to each and every review that has been left but we all really do appreciate it. If you have any other questions about her condition just let me know and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.

Crista


	18. Chapter 18

So, good news everyone, Amber is awake! The swelling went down faster than the doctors were anticpating and they woke her up Monday afternoon. I meant to let you all know sooner but it's been pretty hectic. There were doctors coming and going from her room all day yesterday and most of the day today. It doesn't seem as though she had any major damage cognitively but her memory is a little fuzzy. She doesn't remember anything about the accident and she keeps mixing up words. Her sentences don't always make sense but the doctors say that's normal after this kind of accident and that it's probably temporary.

She had barely been awake 24 hours before she was asking the doctors when she could go home and, of course, that made us all laugh because it was the first time she actually sounded like Amber since waking up.

She's having a bit of a hard time with all the burns and the broken bones. She wants to get up and get back to work, school, etc. but she's basically on strict bed rest right now. They can't fit her into hard casts right now because of the burns so the healing process is going to take a bit longer than normal but she should start her harder physical therapy in about six weeks.

A main reason it took me so long to get you all updated is because I spent all day Tuesday trying to find a PT for Amber. The one the hospital referred her to kind of clashed with Amber as soon as they met. Amber wanted to set up harder goals than the PT was comfortable with. Luckily, I found a great therapist that will keep her motivated and who will push her like she wants but still be sure to not push her too hard.

But like I said, her memory is a little shot right now. She didn't really even remember who Lizzy was at first Monday. The doctors assured us it's only temporary but I think it's frustrating Amber. She tried to ask for water yesterday and she couldn't remember what a straw was called. She's doing better today and she does have a speech therapist coming to work with her tomorrow afternoon so hopefully Amber will be getting back on track quickly.

I'm not exactly sure what else I can tell you about Amber's condition right now other than she's stable. I just wanted you all to know what was going on with her. Again, thanks to everyone that has shown your concern and hopefully the next time you all get an update it's from Amber and not me!

Crista


	19. Chapter 19

I don't own Glee.

*/*

"How's Puck?" Kurt raised a brow when Rachel seated herself across from him and Blaine in the bar.

"He's okay," Rachel replied. "He's actually coming over tonight. I think he's getting frustrated because he's used to living alone and now he's got Santana and Maria living down the hall from him."

"I still can't believe you forgave her after all the things she said to and about you." Kurt shook his head. "You know she's going to try to get with Puckerman eventually. It's just what she does."

Rachel shrugged. "She's in a bad place right now. I was a bitch to everyone after Finn left all those years ago. She just needed someone to take it on and I was easy target. I don't blame her, Kurt and you shouldn't either." Kurt rolled his eyes and started to open his mouth to speak but Rachel quickly cut him off. "I trust Noah. He's not going to do anything with Santana. And I don't think she'll try to get him to do anything. Maria is her focus right now."

"I don't trust her," Kurt told her evenly. "You shouldn't either, Rach. She's the same as she was in high school. When Santana wants something, she's going to get it. But do whatever you want; you've never listened to me anyway. Just don't get mad when I tell you I told you so."

*/*

"I thought you said only married people could have sleep-overs," Maria commented as she colored a picture. "Why is Uncle Puck going over to Rachel's when it's dark? You said only bad things happen after dark, Mommy."

"That's because Uncle Puck is planning to do some very bad things with Rachel," Santana grinned over to Puck, who was picking up his keys and heading to the front door.

"Mind your own business, Satan," Puck growled but tossed a grin over his shoulder.

"Don't call me that in front of Maria," Santana rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Maria looked up at Puck. "If you're having a sleepover with Rachel... why don't you have a sleeping bag or any clothes?"

"That's a great question," Santana raised an eyebrow.

Puck turned back to face the two of them and smirked. "I have a drawer," He replied simply. "At Rachel's."

Santana's eyes widened. "Since when?"

"Bye, Maria. Try to teach your mommy to stop being such a yenta."

"Don't call me that either," Santana crossed her arms.

"Yea, well, it's a lot nicer than what I really wanted to call you," Puck chuckled and the front door clicked shut behind him.

He knew she was home when he pulled into her driveway. She went out with Kurt and Blaine tonight but her porch light is on and that's her little signal to let him know she was home. He was quiet as he locked the front door behind him, flipped the porch light off, and kicked his shoes into the corner before slipping upstairs.

She was putting some lotion on her legs when he walked in. She knew he was in here because she shot a small smile over her shoulder before turning back to finish up what she was doing before he walked in. She let out this little squeak when he walked over to grip her hips steadily and bent to kiss her shoulder.

"You should have waited and I would have done that for you," He whispered into her ear and he smirked at the shudder that ran down her spine. "Any excuse to touch you."

She grinned up at him and leaned to put the lotion bottle back on her bedside table before twisting her body to face him. "You were late. I tried to wait for you but you were supposed to be here half an hour ago."

"I know." He watched a pout spread over her lips. "But Santana got home late from work and Maria needed some help with homework."

"Is everything okay with them? You know, living with you?" Rachel asked.

"They aren't living with me," Puck shrugged. "Santana just hasn't found a decent place yet."

"She's been looking at dozens of places, Noah, but you keep shooting them down. That nice two bedroom I found across town was perfect but you said it was in a bad part of Lima," Rachel moved to rearrange her pillows on the bed. "There isn't a bad part of Lima, Noah!"

"Rachel," He sighed.

"Is it tempting?" She asked a little too quietly when she turned back to face him. "I mean, I know you aren't sleeping with her because I know you wouldn't hurt me like that, but… do you think about it? She sleeps right down the hall from you, Noah. Do you realize how easy it would be for you to just slip in? I would never know."

"Rachel," He repeated her name, but a little more sternly this time. "It's not like that at all. I'm just concerned about Maria. And I know you're worried because you keep bringing up these great apartments. I know Santana living me with right now isn't practical, but she has nowhere else to go. That two bedroom house you showed me and Lopez last week was amazing but the rent was double what she makes in a month. So yea, I keep finding problems with all of these apartments; but it's only so Santana won't feel bad because she can't afford the rent."

Rachel looked up at him curiously. "I didn't mean to make her feel bad. I was just trying to help."

"I know," Puck nodded. "She knows. And listen, if it were any other time, hell yes I would be tempted. But those thoughts hadn't even crossed my mind because I've always got you swimming around in my head. I don't need to be tempted by some other woman because I've already got one of the most beautiful women right here."

She hesitated but a small smile finally took over her lips and he grinned as well. "I'm pretty sure you just stole that line from some romantic chick-flick, but I can't even pretend to care right now."

"So you forgive me?" He questioned.

"There's nothing to forgive, Noah. Kurt was talking nonsense at the bar earlier today and I guess I just let him get in my head. I knew you wouldn't do anything like that. I was being silly," She admitted sheepishly and let him give her a quick kiss.

She crawled into the bed and patted the spot beside her. He folded his jeans over the back of the chair in her room and sank under the folds of the comforter. Her quiet breathing filled his ears as he pulled her to him, pressing a wet kiss to her shoulder and burying his face in her neck.

"You have nothing to worry about, babe," He whispered against her ear. "I'm not going anywhere."

*/*

Rachel felt bad for Maria; she really did, but Santana and Puck had no right to yell at Rachel just because Maria didn't receive lead for the small production her class is putting on in a few weeks.

"I know Maria was upset when she learned she was just going to be a mushroom, but there's only one lead and I had to give that to Chelsea." Rachel shrugged somewhat unapologetically. "Maria is talented and much better than many of the girls in my class, but Chelsea earned that lead. I wouldn't feel right giving it to Maria just because I'm closer with her."

"She was crying, Rachel," Santana rolled her eyes. "Maria has been working so hard for that part the last two weeks."

Rachel turned to face Puck and Santana fully. "Chelsea has been working for this part for the last two months. I'm sorry Maria feels bad but I'm not just going to hand her a part she didn't deserve."

"Can't you just let Maria and Chelsea do one of those damn diva-offs like you did with Kurt and Mercedes?" Puck questioned.

"I was fair in my judging of their auditions, Noah. If I thought Maria deserved that lead more than Chelsea, I would have given it to her. Maria tries hard, but she doesn't care as much as Chelsea does. Maybe next year."

"There won't be a next year," Santana snarled and crossed her arms. "If Maria isn't the lead, she won't participate in the play."

Rachel raised a brow but quickly matched Santana's stance. "Make sure to tell Tina on the way out that Maria won't need a costume for the play after all. We'll be focusing on the play for the next few weeks so there isn't a reason for her to show up."

"Rach, you can't kick Maria out. She loves this class," Puck tried to reason with her.

"When Maria found out she didn't get the lead this morning, she kicked Chelsea and ripped her leotard. I won't allow that kind of bullying in my class, Noah," Rachel sighed. "If you two want to teach Maria to act that way when she doesn't get her way, that's your problem, but I won't deal with it here."

*/*

Rachel really didn't think the thing with Maria was a big deal. She figured Puck would just get over it and move on. Apparently, she thought wrong because he hasn't talked to her in three days. She's left him countless messages but he hasn't called her back once. At this point, she was kind of pissed.

It didn't help that her birthday was coming up and Kurt's planning this huge party she really doesn't want. She tried to talk to Blaine, but he said to just let Kurt do his thing and it wouldn't be so bad.

"Do you like this one?" Kurt asked as he shoved another forkful of cake into Rachel's mouth.

"Kurt!" Rachel rolled her eyes heavily. "This isn't my wedding cake, okay? I don't care what kind it is as long as you get it from this bakery."

"What about—"

"If you ask me about the frosting I'm pulling one of my infamous storm-outs!" She challenged him. "The only reason I agreed to come with you today was because I thought you'd tell me what an asshole Puck was for not answering my calls. I thought you'd be on my side and tell me I don't need some man in my life, but all you've done is made me gain two pounds and lose the last three hours of my life."

"Okay," Kurt took a deep breath. "Obviously, you're a little touchy today so let's take a break from the cake. First off, I don't have to tell you that you don't need a man in your life because you already know that. But its Noah Puckerman and his body looks almost the same as it did in high school except now it's covered with a uniform and you need to get thoroughly fucked so badly it makes me want to let you borrow Blaine for a night."

"Kurt!" Rachel admonished because she was sure the elderly couple sitting in front of her just heard what Kurt said. "You don't have to be so crass."

"I know Puck isn't exactly being fair with this whole situation and he's acting like a total baby right not, but its Puck, Rachel. You guys are so completely in love with each other and you're both just too stubborn to admit it. What you need to do is show up at his place with those waffles he likes so much that you make and apologize. Pull it out of your ass if you have to, but apologize because you belong together."

"He likes my waffles?" She asked quietly.

Kurt nodded confidently. "Besides, it's stupid to let this dumb fight you two are having ruin all the planning I've put into you and Puck's wedding."


End file.
